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Cooley Accuses Bonta of Lying to Press, Libeling Defendants
A.G. Says in News Release He Secured a Felony Conviction of Two Anti-Abortionists; Judge Said at Hearing Crime Will Be Reduced if Two, Who Pled No Contest, Successfully Complete Diversion, With Disposition Deferred to 2026
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has asserted that California Attorney General Rob Bonta falsely contended in a press release that two anti-abortion activists who made secret video recordings at Planned Parenthood facility, purportedly depicting the selling of fetal remains, have been convicted of a felony, and threatened legal action against Bonta if he does not post a retraction.
The defendants, David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, did each plead no contest on Monday in San Francisco Superior Court to one felony count of violating Penal Code §632(a). That section proscribes “intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication” using “an electronic amplifying or recording device to eavesdrop upon or record the confidential communication, whether the communication is carried on among the parties in the presence of one another….”
However, under a plea bargain, they will stand convicted of a felony only if they flunk the requirements set down for a one-year period of diversion—one of the conditions being to stay away from the Planned Parenthood facility. Other counts were dropped.
Judge’s Remarks
Judge Harry L. Jacobs advised the defendants on Monday:
“The plea at this point will be entered but it will not be accepted as a felony. That will come only if things don’t work out and you have to be convicted of the felony….
“In other words, at the sentencing, I will find you guilty of that felony if the terms of the plea agreement are not met.”
The plea bargain contemplates reduction of the charge to a misdemeanor, if the defendants do not violate the conditions imposed on them, with the possibility of the conviction being expunged, if, in the judge’s discretion, that is warranted.
After the defendants each waived various rights and entered a np-contest plea, Jacobs said that he finds “a factual basis for the entry of the plea today” but specified that “[t]he plea will be entered at this time, but it will not be accepted into the minutes of the Court; instead, this matter will be continued for sentencing until January the 26th” of next year.
Press Release
A press release issued by the state Department of Justice on Tuesday bears the heading, “Attorney General Bonta Secures Felony Conviction of David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt for Criminal Invasion of Privacy.” It says that says that Bonta “today announced the felony conviction of David Robert Daleiden, along with co-conspirator Sandra Merritt,” contending that “they each pleaded no contest to, and were found guilty of, one felony count of California Penal Code Section 632(a).”
Bonta is quoted as commenting:
“While the Trump Administration is issuing pardons to individuals convicted of harming reproductive health clinics and providers, my office is securing criminal convictions to ensure that Californians can exercise their constitutional rights to reproductive healthcare. We will not hesitate to continue taking action against those who threaten access to abortion care—whether by recording confidential conversations or other means.”
Cooley’s Demand
Cooley—one of the lawyers representing Daleiden at Monday’s hearing, doing so via Zoom—in a letter emailed to Bonta on Wednesday said of the press release: “Your statements are libelous. Your statements are false. Mr. Daleiden and Ms. Merritt have not been ‘convicted.’ They are not ‘felons.’ They were not deemed ‘guilty.’
“You are hereby put on notice that you have until tomorrow, January 30, at 5:00 p.m. to make an appropriate retraction of the false and libelous statements you have made, either intentionally or in reckless disregard of the truth. If you don’t, further legal action will be undertaken against you personally and others, if there is proof of their involvement.”
No retraction was posted by press time yesterday.
Bonta’s Tweet
In a tweet, Bonta asserted:
“David Daleiden has been convicted of felony invasion of privacy for illegally recording confidential conversations with healthcare professionals.”
Daleiden countered on Tuesday on “X”:
“This is false.
The judge explicitly stated on the record yesterday that we would ONLY be ‘convicted’ and ‘found guilty’ if we break the agreement. “Why is @AGRobBonta misrepresenting our agreement the day after signing it?”
The Office of Attorney General did not respond to the METNEWS’s request for comment.
Campaign Issue
An issue raised against then-Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election was that she launched a criminal investigation of Daleiden and Merritt in 2015, while California’s attorney general, although prosecutions by her office under §632 were a rarity and she had been the recipient of past campaign donations from Planned Parenthood. That organization contributed heavily to her 2016 campaign for the U.S. Senate, while the prospect of prosecution of the two loomed.
Cooley was quoted in the New York Post on Aug. 2, 2024, as saying:
“What Kamala Harris did was unconstitutional and vindictive,” Cooley told The Post. “It was a selective prosecution for huge donors.
“Kamala Harris opened this investigation at the behest of Planned Parenthood and the two AGs that followed her have kept it alive.
Copyright 2025, Metropolitan News Company