Doctor fired for vetting Trump's supposed "virus treatment" is filing whistleblower complaint

[Mrs. Overall]

Link to tweet

Jeremy Diamond
@JDiamond1

Here is Dr. Rick Bright's full statement, just emailed out by the law firm Katz, Marshall & Banks which will be representing him as he files a whistleblower complaint.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[tblue37]

2. K&R for visibility. nt

[Kingofalldems]

3. Kick this one.

[Leghorn21]

4. Oh who does this unelected crisis-actor fake "doctor" think he is, anyway??!?

THANK YOU, DR. BRIGHT

RESPECT

[scarletwoman]

5. Here is the back story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/coronavirus-live-coverage.html#link-652aa9c3

A doctor says he was removed from his federal post after pressing for rigorous vetting of treatments embraced by Trump.

The doctor who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for a rigorous vetting of a coronavirus treatment embraced by President Trump. The doctor said that science, not “politics and cronyism” must lead the way.

Dr. Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response.

Instead, he was given a narrower job at the National Institutes of Health. “I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,” he said in a statement to The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman.

<snip>

Dr. Bright, who noted that his entire career had been spent in vaccine development both in and outside of government, has led BARDA since 2016.

In the statement, he said: “My professional background has prepared me for a moment like this — to confront and defeat a deadly virus that threatens Americans and people around the globe. To this point, I have led the government’s efforts to invest in the best science available to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Unfortunately, this resulted in clashes with H.H.S. political leadership, including criticism for my proactive efforts to invest early into vaccines and supplies critical to saving American lives. I also resisted efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections,” he said.

<more at link>

[Mrs. Overall]

7. Thanks for posting this! I couldn't get to the NYT story as I'm not a subscriber.

Context helps!

[scarletwoman]

9. You're very welcome! I think you might be able to use this NYT link even without being a subscriber.

It looks like it's part of their free coronavirus coverage.

[Mrs. Overall]

13. The link worked--thanks!

[ResistantAmerican17]

6. Hells yeah

Put those repugnant spineless congressional and senate enablers in the crosshairs again. Make them keep defending the tyrannical shit gibbon, and use their ass kissing to defeat them in the fall.

[iluvtennis]

8. Glad he is filing a lawsuit...he was removed from his position because he touted science and logic.

Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2020, 07:34 PM - Edit history (1)

[SergeStorms]

16. There's no place for science and logic...

in Trump's America. We either believe everything that comes dribbling out of his mouth, or we're subject to his reptilian-brain induced wrath.

[iluvtennis]

21. Exactly. nt

[Stuart G]

10. Kick & Rec...Thank You for posting..

[scarletwoman]

14. So is CBS - good on them. (nt)

[zentrum]

12. Kick.

[Kingofalldems]

15. Has Trump been asked about Dr. Bright this evening?

[LisaM]

18. Someone asked him a couple of minutes ago. Trump says he never heard of him.

I'm sure that the factcheckers are going into that even now.

That was a few minutes before now when he said that he's going to have more tests than the governors want.

[Jim__]

17. Hopefully, that letter gets lots of publicity. - n/t

[warmfeet]

19. Shine sunlight on this whole maladministration.

Can't fix a problem unless you know what it is.

[SheltieLover]

20. Excellent!

TY!

[SunSeeker]

22. The White House reporters should rip into Trump about this today.

And not let him get away with the lie "I don't know the guy."