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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she did not accept that the videos were accurate
The Democrat said she was concerned by the undercover filming by the Center for Medical Progress
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says the group behind the secretly recorded, edited videos that purportedly show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal tissue should be investigated.
Pelosi told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview that aired Sunday on “State of the Union” that she did not accept that the videos – which have rocked the social conservative movement this summer – were accurate. She said she was concerned by the undercover filming by the Center for Medical Progress, which produced the edited clips.
“I think they should be investigated as to how they obtained those and doctored those and had them be accepted as something that was an indictment against Planned Parenthood. Because that’s not true,” she said.
Some congressional Republicans have tried to defund Planned Parenthood as part of budget talks, and congressional investigators are taking a look at the organization, which has denied any wrongdoing. But some House Democrats have called for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to similarly investigate the group.
Pelosi also praised Planned Parenthood’s “excellent” leadership, singling out President Cecile Richards, who she said is “a spectacular leader in our country.”
But the top-ranking House Democrat said the Planned Parenthood officials in the videos – some of which show employees casually discussing abortion – should have been more careful with their language.
“They spoke in a way that could be misinterpreted,” she said.