Name: Fate of the Pfizer Whistleblower Case to Be Decided by Federal Judge in Texas
Uploaded: 2023-03-02T18:41:19.000Z
Description: In Beaumont, Texas, attorneys for a whistleblower alleging violations occurred during the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial argued in federal court on March 1 that their case should advance to the discovery phase.

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

US Condemns China's Actions Against Philippine Navy

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Sen. Darline Graham’s Domestic Policy Focus Smart Ahead of Midterms: Analyst

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

Cuba a 'Nodule in International Network of Communists’ Working to Bring Down the US: Expert

US 'Not in New Phase' of Iranian War: Middle East Expert

Australian Woman Welcomes ‘1–in–15–Million’ Identical Quadruplet Girls

Spanish Player Wears ‘Make Spain Great Again’ Hat During World Cup Victory Celebration

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

Congress Weighing Stopgap Measure to Avert Pre-Election Shutdown

Iris Tao is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. Prior to her work at the White House, Iris reported on U.S. politics and U.S.–China relations from NTD’s New York headquarters. She holds degrees in journalism and economics from Boston University.

Iris Tao

Lebanon’s Aoun to Present Trump With Hezbollah Disarmament Plan

Nicholas Zifcak is an Epoch Times reporter.

Nicholas Zifcak

Falun Gong

Candlelight Vigil Marks 27 Years of Persecution of Falun Gong in China

Trump Defends Freedom, Condemns Communism During Captive Nations Week

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 21)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 20)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 17)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 14)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 10)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 9)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (July 8)

Tom Gantert is a reporter for The Epoch Times.

Tom Gantert

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Trump Uses Recent Speeches to Warn Americans of Resurging Communism

NTD+ is a streaming platform featuring exclusive programming, investigative news analysis, and award-winning documentaries.


NTD+

Shorts

Alleged Reflecting Pool Vandalism Caught on Video

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

2.8 Million People in China Evacuated Amid Typhoon Bavi

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Iran's Football Team Leaves Note of Friendship

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Congress

House Passes Legislation to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Sen. Lindsey Graham Likely Died After Aorta Tear, Medical Examiner Says

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. 

Jack Phillips

Andrew Thomas is a reporter for NTD News primarily covering business, the economy, and technology. 

Andrew Thomas

World News

Middle East

UN Maritime Group to Rescue 11,000 Sailors Stranded in Middle East

Mary Man is a writer for NTD. She has traveled around the world covering China, international news, and arts and culture.

Mary Man

China News

China Floods: Thousands at Risk After Multiple Dams Collapse in Guangxi

NTD Films

NTD+ Movies

The Unrestricted War

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Iran

US, Iran Launch New Strikes; Trump Warns Ceasefire May Collapse

In Beaumont, Texas, attorneys for a whistleblower alleging violations occurred during the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial argued in federal court on March 1 that their case should advance to the discovery phase.

Attorneys for the defendants—Pfizer and two subcontractors, Ventavia Research Group and ICON—tried to convince the judge to dismiss the case. If successful, their clients would avoid depositions under oath.

Defense attorneys told the judge Wednesday that whether protocol violations occurred was ultimately irrelevant because the federal government was made aware of them but still granted emergency authorization to Pfizer's vaccine.

They pointed out that the federal government backed the defendant's motions, asserting that even if rules were violated, the problems only affected a small number of trial sites.

Lawyers for Brook Jackson, the whistleblower, countered by saying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the vaccine before reviewing the information Jackson provided.

U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale, the Trump appointee overseeing the case, said he would not issue a ruling from the bench, and a decision has not been handed down as of March 2.

Truncale said he did not usually allow oral arguments on motions to dismiss but felt it was necessary for due process in a case that had captured the public's attention.

Brook Jackson, (C), outside the federal courthouse in Beaumont, Texas for a hearing to dismiss her lawsuit claiming violations during Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, on March 1, 2023. (Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times)


<h2>Violations</h2>
Ventavia ran some of the sites for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine Phase 3 clinical trial. The company didn't properly report adverse events and failed to keep all participants blinded, according to <a href="https://admin4.theepochtimes.com/exclusive-pfizer-trial-whistleblower-presses-forward-with-lawsuit-without-us-governments-help_4277153.html">internal communications</a> revealed by Jackson.

Ventavia and other companies were hired by the clinical research company ICON, which Pfizer hired to oversee trial sites.

Jackson was hired by Ventavia in September 2020. She worked on clinical trials for 18 years and has been described as an expert. She was fired the same day she alerted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of trial irregularities, 18 days after starting the new job.

Jackson sued Ventavia, Pfizer, and ICON in 2021 for violating the False Claims Act, a law that prohibits knowingly making a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval from the government. She also accused Ventavia of illegal retaliation.

Before the hearing, Jackson told The Epoch Times that she would appeal the case if the judge dismissed it because the public deserves the truth—that the vaccines are not safe or effective because the data was manipulated.

"I did this on behalf of the American people," she said.

The companies have said that Jackson has not proven violations occurred partly because of how the contract between Pfizer and the government was structured.
<h2>FDA Decision</h2>
Truncale questioned attorneys for both sides during oral presentations.

The judge asked whether the FDA's decision not to pursue the issue impacted the claim's validity.

He said there could be many reasons why the FDA may have decided not to get involved, including "political" ones.

"So if the FDA gets it wrong, they just get it wrong and we live with it?" Truncale asked.

"Exactly," said Pfizer attorney Carlton Wessel, adding that if the government doesn't think it's been defrauded, that should end the case.

The judge posed a hypothetical situation as to whether the court could act in cases where the government may hide things or cover them up.

"There's no big conspiracy here," Wessel said. "The vaccine is not a political thing."

Wessel said the government continued to purchase the vaccine and expressed "full confidence in the data." He said that the experts in the government should make the decisions on the vaccine, not Jackson.

But Robert Barnes, one of Jackson's attorneys, said that just because the government was still paying for the vaccine didn't mean there wasn't a problem.

"The government under that contract has no right to withhold payment," added Warner Mendenhall, another attorney for Jackson.

The FDA says the vaccine is safe and effective, Barnes told the judge, but now the whole world "knows the consequences."

Mendenhall argued that the case warrants further investigation through discovery.

He refuted that the FDA knew the gist of Jackson's complaint before issuing vaccine authorization. Evidence indicates the FDA authorized the vaccine before reviewing the information she provided, he said.

Mendenhall claims there were concerns about fraudulent data from some within the FDA.

An attorney for whistleblower Brook Jackson, Warner Mendenhall, interviewed outside the Beaumont, Texas, federal courthouse, said it could be several months before the judge rules on a motion for dismissal, on March 1, 2023. (Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times)


<h2>'Interest of the People'</h2>
The case <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/exclusive-pfizer-trial-whistleblower-presses-forward-with-lawsuit-without-us-governments-help_4277153.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was unsealed in 2022</a> after the U.S. government declined to back Jackson. It has instead filed in support of the motions to dismiss.

Mendenhall said Jackson reported that signatures on consent forms weren't obtained until after the placebo or trial vaccine was administered, temperature controls weren't maintained, and patients weren't monitored.

He said the public deserves to know what happened with the vaccine trials.

"That's the interest that matters here—the interest of the people," Mendenhall said.

After the hearing, Jackson said she believes her case is important to those who have been injured by the vaccine and hopes that any funds recovered through the litigation will go into a fund to help them. She added that she felt the judge was aware of the case's significance.

"I felt like he was very thorough, and he understood this is an important case," Jackson told The Epoch Times.
<h2>Discovery</h2>


Brook Jackson speaks outside the courthouse in Beaumont, Texas, March 1, 2023. (Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times)

Jackson hopes the case will move forward, allowing her lawyers to depose principal investigators at each clinical trial site and even Dr. Anthony Fauci if possible. Fauci, the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, widely promoted the COVID-19 vaccines as safe and effective.

Although critics have called her an anti-vaccinationist, Jackson noted she had worked on clinical trials for almost two decades.

"I love my country. I'm anti-corruption," she said. "It's all about the vaccine-injured for me and taking down pharma."

Mendenhall said before the hearing that Jackson's team looked forward to getting materials through discovery if the case was allowed to move forward.

"We get Pfizer's internal documents, and we can really dig into what happened to these 44,000 trial participants that they had," Mendenhall told NTD.

Mendenhall believes the materials would show that "many other trial sites were actually being run in a manner that is not appropriate for getting good data."

"And if they don't have good data, then that emergency use authorization is then pulled back by the FDA," Mendenhall said. "They don't have enough data to support it, and if that happens, this whole thing is over. The mandates are over; the shot is over," he added.

Ventavia has accused Jackson of entering the company with "an agenda," noting that she recorded conversations with employees and went into certain areas it suggested she should not have.

Jackson said she was compelled to document what she encountered, including patient information being left out in the open, hazardous material being stored improperly, and other violations.

"I was the first one there, and I was the last one to leave from pretty much day one," Jackson said. "Just really trying to get a handle on the chaos is the only way that I can describe it."

<em>Darlene McCormick Sanchez contributed to this article.</em>

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/fate-of-the-pfizer-whistleblower-case-to-be-decided-by-federal-judge-in-texas_5094219.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Videos

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Pfizer

covid-19 vaccine

Management

Darlene McCormick Sanchez is an Epoch Times reporter who covers border security and immigration, election integrity, and Texas politics. 

Ms. McCormick Sanchez has 20 years of experience in media and has worked for outlets including Waco Tribune Herald, Tampa Tribune, and Waterbury Republican-American.

Darlene McCormick Sanchez

Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at zack.stieber@epochtimes.com

Zachary Stieber

02_Second Lead

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

Fate of the Pfizer Whistleblower Case to Be Decided by Federal Judge in Texas

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 21)

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 20)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 20)

Chris Beers is an NTD News anchor and political correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Chris co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Chris Beers

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 19)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 17)

Special Coverage

[LIVE July 23 at 11:30 AM ET] 2026 Rally and March to End the Persecution of Falun Dafa

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 17)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 16)

Tiffany Meier is an anchor, China news investigative reporter, and producer for NTD News based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Tiffany anchors NTD's flagship shows "NTD Evening News" and "China in Focus" and co-moderates NTD's special election coverage "The Nation Decides." She produced the award-winning NTD Original documentary "Hollywood Takeover: China's Control in the Film Industry."


Tiffany Meier

NTD Special Coverage: Trump Addresses the Nation

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 16)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (July 15)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (July 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.