WASHINGTON, D.C., October 12, 2014 (LifeSiteNews) – A candidate for Speaker of the House says he never declared Planned Parenthood innocent of illegally harvesting and selling the body parts of babies it aborts.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-UT, had previously said his committee's investigation had found no wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood – but only in one of numerous areas currently under investigation.
“Please be careful using” my comments, Rep. Chaffetz admonished Democrats on his panel, several of whom had cited him as saying the abortion giant had done nothing wrong or illegal, despite what undercover videos appear to show.
It's not just Democratic politicians who say Chaffetz's admission means Planned Parenthood is innocent of any wrongdoing. Supporters of abortion-on-demand cited his remarks to say that Planned Parenthood is innocent of all accusations related to fetal harvesting and the methods of abortion it employs.
Salon.com published an opinion piece declaring Chaffetz's “would certainly qualify as a tentative exoneration by one of its most prominent members.” Likewise, the website Crooks and Liars wrote that “Armed with this hefty store of knowledge about an utter lack of wrongdoing, the House will now appoint a Select Committee to investigate the organization Chaffetz just exonerated.”
Chaffetz said he has been taken out of context.
“The hearing that we conducted in [the] Oversight [committee] was about the finances of Planned Parenthood,” he said. “We didn't get into the content of what they do. We didn't get into the content of the video. We didn't get into their practices that they do. We didn't get into the fetal body tissue issues.”
“We were very narrowly focused on the finances. The point we were making is that Planned Parenthood had revenue of $127 million more than their expenses,” said Chaffetz, who noted that the allegedly politically neutral non-profit sends money overseas and sends money to its campaign arm — the latter of which funds almost exclusively Democratic candidates.
Chaffez said “I didn't find any” wrongdoing as to how Planned Parenthood spent its considerable money.
“It's a bit of a stretch to say that I have done some conclusive investigation on all the actions of Planned Parenthood,” Chaffetz told House Democrats.
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Rep. Hank Johnson, D-GA, immediately asked Chaffetz “whether or not you have any evidence whatsoever that Planned Parenthood has broken the law, in any way.”
Chaffetz responded that undercover videos taken by the Center for Medical Progress and testimony offered before Congress raise “a legitimate question” of whether Planned Parenthood is breaking laws.
