David Daleiden’s two criminal defense attorneys were found in contempt of court for releasing video footage that exposed callous discussions of dismemberment abortions and selling body parts after a federal gag order barred publication.  

The judge in the case is still considering whether to hold Daleiden and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) in contempt.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick found Steve Cooley and Brent Ferreira in violation of his federal court order Tuesday that banned the release of the CMP videos from the National Abortion Federation (NAF) conferences in 2014 and 2015.

Orrick is expected to order Daleiden’s attorneys to pay financial damages to the NAF shortly, according to Alexandra Snyder, executive director for Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF), which is coordinating the various attorneys representing Daleiden.

Daleiden, the lead investigator for CMP, would likely be ordered to pay NAF as well if he is found in contempt, and he will probably be required to sign a declaration stating he will not release any more video.

Daleiden still has a significant amount of video that has not yet been released.

Orrick had ordered Daleiden and his criminal attorneys to appear on the contempt charge earlier this summer.

The order stemmed from the attorneys having released the videos in May. Cooley and Ferreira argued in Tuesday’s contempt hearing that the videos are key in providing the CMP project lead proper defense in his criminal case.

That defense hinges on a California eavesdropping statute that protects confidential conversations. The videos show the NAF meetings were a public gathering with people milling around, where Daleiden’s legal counsel contends there could be no expectation of confidentiality in this sort of setting.

CMP tried to get Orrick disqualified from the case in June but was unsuccessful.

The request was made because Orrick had served on the board for Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in San Francisco, which partners with Planned Parenthood, allowing the abortion provider to operate out of its space. He was also secretary for Good Samaritan during the time it was entering its “key partnership” with Planned Parenthood.

The San Francisco Superior Court threw out 14 of 15 criminal charges against Daleiden, CMP and Daleiden’s CMP associate, Sandra Merritt, in June, finding they were “legally insufficient.”  

However, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed amended charges last week.

Becerra is an abortion proponent who accepted thousands of dollars in campaign donations from Planned Parenthood and NARAL as a Democratic congressman.

Full story at LifeSiteNews.