Planned Parenthood under investigation by Justice Department over sale of fetal tissue
Brooke Singman
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...al-tissue.html
The Justice Department has launched a federal investigation into Planned Parenthood's practices and the sale of fetal tissue.
In a letter first obtained by Fox News,
Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd
formally requested unredacted documents from the
Senate Judiciary Committee, the same panel that led the congressional probe into the women's health organization.
"The Department of Justice appreciates the offer of assistance in obtaining these materials, and would like to request the Committee provide
unredacted copies of records contained in the report,
in order to further the Department's ability to conduct a thorough and comprehensive assessment of that report based on the full range of information available," Boyd wrote.
Fox News has learned that last month, the FBI first requested the unredacted documents from the committee.
Fox News is told that Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said they needed to receive a letter
and be assured that the documents would be used for investigative purposes.
The letter, sent to Grassley and Feinstein on Thursday, is
a rare confirmation by the Justice Department of a federal investigation.
"At this point, the records are intended for investigative use only—we understand that
a resolution from the Senate may be required if the Department were to
use any of the unredacted materials in a formal legal proceeding, such as a grand jury," Boyd also wrote.
A spokesman for the committee told Fox News on Friday that they received the Department's "official request for unredacted copies of its 2016 report and we will work to cooperate fully."
In that final report entitled
"Human Fetal Tissue Research: Context and Controversy" published in December 2016, Grassley referred Planned Parenthood and other providers to the FBI for investigation....