The Highwire by Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards 3/8/2023
Whistleblower Plaintiff Brook Jackson and Defendants Pfizer, Ventavia, and ICON met in Judge Michael J. Truncale’s Beaumont, Texas, courtroom on March 1, 2023, to hear Pfizer’s motion to dismiss the False Claims Act case Jackson filed against the pharmaceutical giant on behalf of the United States. Depending on Truncale’s ruling, the case could further expose the enormous fraud and deception between Pfizer and the U.S. government as the billionaire company cut corners and wasted taxpayer money to get its experimental COVID-19 gene therapy jabs into the arms of society. While the world awaits Truncale’s ruling on whether the case will move forward with discovery or be dismissed altogether, as Pfizer hopes, Jackson’s attorney Robert Barnes summed up what is undoubtedly the belief held by any American paying attention, tweeting:
“Pfizer promised to deliver a safe, effective vaccine for prevention of COVID based on honest clinical data. Instead, they delivered a dangerous, ineffective gene therapy, preventing nothing. Pfizer lied. People died. Time for discovery.”
Judge Truncale, appointed in 2019, allowed nearly four hours of oral arguments last Wednesday in the case, which centers around revelations of shoddy practices at Ventavia, a contract research company hired to carry out Pfizer’s pivotal COVID-19 vaccine trial before the FDA’s issued its Emergency Use Authorization. Truncale noted that he would not issue a ruling from the bench. As of March 6, a decision has yet to be handed down, and according to Barnes, Truncale’s written opinion could take weeks or even months, depending on how long it takes the court to review the case. Barnes explained that the court expressed concern that the net effect of Pfizer’s argument could be “that there’s no role for the judiciary in overseeing what takes place if the FDA simply continues along with the Pfizer fraud.”
Trying to shift responsibility for any wrongdoing, Defense attorneys argued that even if protocol violations occurred, the case should not move forward because the federal government was aware “but still granted emergency authorization to Pfizer’s vaccine.” Racing to beat Moderna as the first pharmaceutical company to unveil an EUA mRNA injection, the billion-dollar company’s attorneys tried to minimize the magnitude of Jackson’s complaints, asserting that “even if rules were violated, the problems only affected a small number of trial sites.” Astounded by Pfizer’s defense, Barnes explained the company’s extraordinary arrogance and untouchable attitude—remember, they have special immunity thanks to the PREP Act—sharing with Owen Shroyer:
“Pfizer’s defense was not that these allegations are false. They challenge whether the allegations are true, but at this stage of the pleadings, they have to assume them to be true legally. Their argument was solely that even if they created a dangerous, ineffective drug that they disguised as a vaccine that they said would be for the prevention of COVID-19, that didn’t prevent COVID at all—in fact, in some cases, it appears the infection rate goes up with COVID depending on how many booster shots that you’ve had—that none of that matters. They argue that as long as the Biden administration, the Justice Department, the FDA, and the Department of Defense go along with this scam, nobody can ever hold them accountable.
More:
https://thehighwire.com/editorial/terrified-of-discovery-massive-implications-in-pfizer-whistleblower-case/
