A trove of unedited videos showing Planned Parenthood officials brokering fetal tissue from abortions for medical research has been given to lawmakers investigating the abortion provider's finances amid a nationwide furor over the hidden-camera footage.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz said committee members and staff will view the previously unseen footage in a closed-door screening room,
The Hill reports.
They won't be released to the public "out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and security of all individuals recorded," the Utah Republican added in a statement.
One GOP committee aide tells The Hill the huge file could contain thousands of hours of footage, and Chaffetz added: "With nearly 800GB of data to review, it will take significant time to evaluate all of the footage."
To date, the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress has released 10 videos, each about 10 minutes long, appearing to show Planned Parenthood officials negotiating the price for fetal tissue. But Democrats have complained the edited videos are deceptive and that full videos haven't been made available.
Full videos had been held back under a
temporary restraining order after the National Abortion Federation claimed in court the release could endanger those who appear in the footage.
Chaffetz last month
filed a subpoena that forced the turnover.
News of the release of the unedited hidden-camera tapes comes a day after the beleaguered Planned Parenthood said it would
no longer accept any sort of payment to cover the costs of providing fetal tissue for medical research.
But the decision hasn't quelled the insistent GOP calls to defund Planned Parenthood, including by Tennessee Republican Rep. Diane Black – or Chaffetz's investigation.
Three other congressional committees are also investigating Planned Parenthood, and the Republican-run House has created a special panel to conduct another.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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