"We certainly began the process as suspects of a crime, and the tables got turned and we ended up victims of a crime," Schaffer told Reuters in an interview.

Schaffer was retained by Planned Parenthood last summer when Texas officials demanded it face a criminal investigation after the anti-abortion activists posted videos online purporting to show the organization's employees discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue, which is illegal in the United States if done for a profit.

The videos produced by Daleiden's Center for Medical Progress were secretly filmed at Planned Parenthood clinics, such as its Houston facility, and including at least one conversation in a restaurant. Planned Parenthood said it has done nothing wrong and commissioned an outside study that said the videos had been deceptively edited.

According to Planned Parenthood, officials have cleared it of wrongdoing in 12 U.S. states in the wake of the allegations.

STARTED A DIALOGUE

Schaffer said very soon after he was hired he began a dialogue with prosecutors in Harris County, which includes much of Houston, about the details of the case, and kept that going throughout.