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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Justice Department is investigating abortion giant Planned Parenthood over claims the organization profited from an illegal baby body part trafficking ring.<\/strong><\/p>\n Fox News<\/a>\u00a0confirmed a federal investigation Thursday when it obtained a letter from Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd to the Senate Judiciary Committee requesting unredacted records from the panel\u2019s previous congressional probe into Planned Parenthood.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019s ability to conduct a thorough and comprehensive assessment of that report based on the full range of information available,\u201d Boyd\u2019s letter to the committee stated.<\/p>\n The possibility of a federal criminal probe into the organization first emerged last month when the FBI requested the unredacted documents, however, Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) demanded the agency submit a letter assuring the docs would be used for an investigation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe letter, sent to Grassley and Feinstein on Thursday, is a rare confirmation by the Justice Department of a federal investigation,\u201d reports Fox News.<\/p>\n Boyd\u2019s letter to the Judiciary Committee continued, \u201cAt this point, the records are intended for investigative use only\u2014we 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The probe follows Grassley\u2019s recommendation in December 2016 that the FBI investigate Planned Parenthood due to evidence showing the organization had benefited financially from an illegal baby body part trafficking scheme.<\/p>\n \u201cThe report documents the failure of the Department of Justice, across multiple administrations, to enforce the law that bans the buying and selling of human fetal tissue,\u201d Grassley stated at the time. \u201cIt also documents substantial evidence suggesting that the specific entities involved in the recent controversy, and\/or individuals employed by those entities, may have violated that law.\u201d<\/p>\n Probes into Planned Parenthood were first prompted by a 2015 14-video expos\u00e9 from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), which had undercover journalists posing as baby organ buyers secretly video tape high-level Planned Parenthood operatives discussing profiting from the barbarous trade.<\/p>\n In one video, CMP journalists captured Dr. Mary Gatter, president of the medical directors\u2019 council at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, haggling over baby body part prices and at one point exclaiming she wanted to\u00a0use the profits to purchase a Lamborghini<\/a>.<\/p>\n