Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s letter requesting Senate documents relating to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue research:
“While this letter is nothing more than a procedural step, I am appalled by the Department of Justice’s flagrant politicization of its mission. The letter is yet another example of the eroding independence of the agency. With this letter, the Justice Department is formally asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to release files on a two-year-old, already debunked investigation based entirely on illegally-made, deceptively-edited videos. Attorney General Sessions also discussed this Senate investigation during his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee last month. While this is not a new announcement by the Department, it is unclear what it expects to find after five congressional investigations, over a dozen of state investigations, and millions in taxpayer dollars found absolutely zero evidence of wrongdoing. It is clear that the motives have more to do with promoting politics than pursuing justice.
“As a former member of the House’s so-called “Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives”—which conducted a year-long investigation of this issue—I was in the room for countless interviews and depositions with providers and experts on this issue. I watched the Republicans abuse, threaten, and demean these hardworking men and women. In all of those interviews, I did not see any evidence indicating wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood or any other organization. In fact, those interviews just confirmed the incredibly important work Planned Parenthood does, serving 2.4 million men, women, and families every year.
“I am outraged that the Justice Department is suddenly using its authority to score cheap political points and potentially to pursue investigations with no factual basis just to appease anti-choice extremists. I stand with Planned Parenthood and will not stand by while the Justice Department uses this investigation to curtail women’s access to the health care they need.”