
US ends case against doctor over alleged Covid vaccine scheme
The abrupt halt to proceedings comes just days after the trial commenced, and is the latest boost to the vaccine-sceptic movement from President Donald Trump's administration.
Michael Kirk Moore, a plastic surgeon in the western state of Utah, was charged by the Department of Justice in 2023 alongside his clinic and three others for "running a scheme" to defraud the government.
He was accused of destroying or disposing of over $28,000 worth of government-provided Covid vaccines and handing out at least 1,937 false vaccine record cards in exchange for payment.
Dr Moore, who faced decades behind bars, was also accused of administering a saline solution to children - at the behest of their parents - so that they would think they had been vaccinated against Covid.
His trial began this week at a federal court in Salt Lake City.
But on Tuesday, Republican politician Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Mr Trump's most vocal hard-right supporters, said she had written to Ms Bondi calling for charges against Dr Moore to be dropped.
"Dr Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so. He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today," Ms Bondi wrote on X yesterday.
Ms Bondi's decision also notably comes as she faces fire from right-wing activists over her handling of a probe into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Covid-19 pandemic sparked fierce political division in the US between those who supported lockdowns and vaccination drives, and those who considered the measures as restrictions on freedom.
Mr Trump, himself vaccinated against Covid-19, has appointed as his Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., who has initiated an overhaul of US vaccine policy.
Mr Kennedy said Dr Moore "deserves a medal for his courage and commitment to healing," in an X post in April.
At the end of May, Mr Kennedy announced that federal authorities would no longer recommend Covid-19 jabs for children and pregnant women, prompting accusations from medical groups that he was taking away parents' ability to opt for vaccinations.
Mr Kennedy has been accused of spreading vaccine misinformation, including about the measles vaccine, even as the US grapples with its worst measles epidemic in 30 years.

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Irish Examiner
44 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Ghislaine Maxwell finishes Epstein interviews with US Justice Department officials
Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has finished one-and-a-half days of interviews with US Justice Department officials, answering questions 'about 100 different people', her lawyer said. 'She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability,' David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met with deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. 'She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we're very proud of her,' Mr Markus said. David Oscar Markus, a lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell, talks to the media outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche met with Maxwell (Colin Hackley/AP) Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein, a wealthy, well-connected financier, sexually abuse underage girls. Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including US President Donald Trump. In a social media post this week, Mr Blanche said Maxwell would be interviewed because of President Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes. Mr Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case, overshadowing his administration's achievements. On Friday, reporters pressed the Republican president about pardoning Maxwell, but he deflected, emphasising his administration's successes. Mr Markus said Maxwell 'was asked maybe about 100 different people'. David Oscar Markus, a lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell, outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida (Colin Hackley/AP) 'The deputy attorney general is seeking the truth,' Mr Markus said. 'He asked every possible question, and he was doing an amazing job.' Mr Markus said he did not ask for anything for Maxwell in return, though he acknowledged that Mr Trump could pardon her. 'Listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way,' Mr Markus said. Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from attorney general Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist. Maxwell is appealing against her conviction, based on the government's pledge years ago that any potential Epstein co-conspirators would not be charged, Mr Markus said. Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 that shifted his case to Florida state court, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Epstein in 2019 and Maxwell in 2020 were charged in federal court in New York. Read More Bill Clinton reportedly sent Jeffrey Epstein note for birthday album

The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Government urged ‘not to delay solemn promise' of VAT cut for hospitality sector
THE GOVERNMENT HAS been urged 'not to delay its promise' of cutting the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to 9% in the upcoming budget. Despite election promises and ministerial pronouncements, government this week has been signalling that a cut to the VAT rate for the hospitality sector may not go ahead in Budget 2026. Tánaiste Simon Harris said the government had made a 'solemn' commitment in the election to reduce the VAT rate for the hospitality sector, but this week the government has been sending mixed signals on how it will proceed. Speaking to RTÉ Radio 1 yesterday, junior justice minister Niall Collins said the VAT cut was not a 'done deal'. VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors was reduced to 9% during the Covid-19 pandemic at a cost of €1.2bn to the exchequer. The previous 13.5% rate was reinstated last August, despite the sector's opposition. Retail Excellence Ireland (REI), the largest representative body for the retail industry in Ireland, has called on the Government to follow through on its 'promise to permanently cut the rate of VAT for the hospitality industry to 9% in Budget 2026'. Jean McCabe, CEO of REI, said that 'after a tough few years, the Government's solemn promise to cut the VAT rate for the hospitality industry was welcome'. 'It would be regrettable for it to delay its promise now,' she added. 'There are too many livelihoods at stake not to introduce a measure as soon as possible that would have such a significant impact on the industry, and on related industries such as retail.' She said the government must do 'everything in its power to strengthen our domestic economy at a time when we need it most'. McCabe also called for the general rate of VAT be cut from 23% to 21% to assist the retail industry. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has criticised the 'deeply misleading' figure of €1 billion per year that was quoted earlier this week regarding the cost to the Exchequer of reducing VAT for hospitality businesses. On Tuesday, during a press conference on the Summer Economic Statement, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe told reporters that the one-year cost for reducing the hospitality VAT rate to 9% for restaurants and hotels would be between €950mn and €1bn. However, later in the press conference, Donohoe said he would need to clarify if that figure did include hotels. A spokesperson for the minister told The Journal today that, based on CSO data, the total one-year cost for restaurants and hotels is actually €810mn. This is split €675mn for restaurants and cafes and €135mn for hotels. The cost for hairdressers would be an additional €40mn. IHF Chief Executive Paul Gallagher said it's time for an 'honest and balanced debate' that 'recognises the economic and social importance of hospitality food service businesses and gives them a fighting chance to survive'. He noted that the 'true cost involved is significantly lower than the widely quoted €1bn figure cited by the Government in recent days' Gallagher added: 'The Government's narrative has had the effect, intended or otherwise, of driving a wedge between the public and the hospitality industry, framing the VAT reduction as a giveaway to businesses. 'This is extremely divisive and simply not true.' He said the 9% VAT reduction sought would apply to prepared food services, such as meals in restaurants, takeaways, commercial kitchens and food served on transport. 'The real beneficiaries are small food businesses,' said Gallagher, 'many of which are operating on the brink of survival due to extreme food cost inflation and shrinking margins. 'Reducing VAT on food services is not a handout to hospitality businesses – it is a vital intervention for a sector that supports over 270,000 livelihoods and contributes significantly to the economy.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal


Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Irish Times
The moment Jerome Powell stood up to Donald Trump
Nobody will ever accuse president Donald Trump of rank sentimentality. Legions of wrestling fans across the United States mourned on Thursday morning the sudden death of Hulk Hogan , the original wrestling star who last July literally gave the shirt off his back to Trump during a memorable, vein-popping cameo at the Republican convention. But as ever, the national news cycle revolving around the president on Thursday was typically furious and strange. In Tallahassee, Florida, the US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, met Ghislaine Maxwell , the English socialite currently serving 20 years for her sex-trafficking crimes and procuring minors for Jeffrey Epstein . The purpose and details of the meeting, which lasted several hours, remain obscure. Trump took to his social media account to pay brief but heartfelt tribute to 'the Hulkster', whom he described as 'MAGA all the way'. Then, a few hours later, he appeared in a white construction-site hard hat in the company of Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve and of late the subject of choice Trumpian smackdowns, such as 'numbskull', 'moron' and 'very dumb'. The pair made unlikely bedfellows for a photo opportunity that quickly turned surreal. The headgear was occasioned by the tour of the Federal Reserve Building, which is undergoing a complete interior and exterior construction overhaul to the eye-watering tune of $2.7 billion. READ MORE Accompanying them was Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator who has been leading the White House argument that the renovation costs are crazily high and merit investigation. 'One of the reasons we wanted to see it,' Scott explained for the cameras – 'was the expenses overrun'. For some unknown and distracting reason, Scott himself was not wearing a white hard hat. Maybe he forsook that safety precaution in a valiant attempt to keep the costs down. But the moment took a theatrical turn when president Trump, producing with a flourish a sheet of paper from his breast pocket, said: 'So we are taking a look. It looks like it's about 3.1 billion. It went up a little bit.' Powell shook his head at this. 'Or a lot.' Trump continued. 'So, the $2.7 is now $3.1.' At this point, Powell's patience broke. 'I'm not aware of that, Mr president. I haven't heard that from anybody at the Fed.' 'It just came out,' president Trump replied, and handed him the paper. Federal Reserve chairs seldom make it to the top because of their charisma or magnetism. Their job demands the opposite. But this was Powell's moment, whether he wished for it or not. He looked perplexed as he read the paper before he saw what he was being presented with. 'It came from the Martin renovation. You just added in a third building, is what that is,' he said, handing his president the paper. 'It's a building that's being built,' Trump said. 'No. It was built five years ago.' The exchange wasn't disrespectful to the office of the presidency on Powell's part, nor withering. But the refusal to buckle made Scott's servility all the more vivid in the moment. It was a startling reminder of how few people in Donald Trump's orbit dare to contradict him. Opinion is split as to whether Powell, who was appointed by Donald Trump in 2017, will go down as a good Federal Reserve boss. He was heavily criticised in some quarters for being overly complacent during the post-pandemic inflationary acceleration. And there may be legitimate argument in Trump's argument that now, with the housing market in the United States dysfunctional, is the time to lower interest rates. But Powell's backbone and his belief that the Federal Reserve must remain independent to political pressure withstood this test. At times, Powell resembled a man sombrely considering the life choices that brought him to this moment: a presidential admonishment with both men dressed in the absurd headgear, like Lego figures brought to life. But he didn't buckle and the bizarre encounter closed with Trump jocularly slapping Powell on the back as he answered a reporter's question of what he would like to see happen. 'Well, I'd love him to lower interest rates. Other than that, what can I tell you?' Friends again? Who knew. But the conversation illustrates the unyielding strangeness of the atmosphere of the political summer in Washington. On Wednesday, House speaker Mike Johnson sent the representatives home for an extra week of recess. Republican senators were unhappy that their colleagues had not stuck around to legislate a little more. The general assumption was that Johnson broke early to avoid a vote, prompted by representative Thomas Massie's discharge petition, to release the Epstein files. Donald Trump presents Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell with what Mr Trump called a list of cost overruns for the Federal Reserve's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project during a tour with Republican senator Tim Scott in Washington, DC. Photograph:'I've got to believe that there has to be more to it, because that almost seems to suggest if they go away for four or five – or how many weeks they're going to go away – that that problem is going to go away,' senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican, told reporters on Capitol Hill. 'Do you guys really think you're going to take your eyes off this issue come Labor Day? The answer is 'no'. So, I think it's a false premise assuming if they just walk away and avoid this vote, that it's not going to continue to be an issue.' A Fox News poll issued on Wednesday evening found that just 13 per cent of voters believed that the White House has been fully transparent with information related to the Epstein case, with 60 per cent Republicans in that category. And only 19 per cent stated that they have not been following the story at all. Alternatively, it is on the radar of 80 per cent of respondents. That statistic alone may explain why alternative scandal pushed by the White House this week – with Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, releasing new documents that purport to link former president Barack Obama to what has been presented as a hoax claim of Russian influence during the 2016 election won by Trump – has yet to gain traction. It's the old principle of maximum headroom. There are simply too many lurid plates spinning in the air above the White House for even the most willing Maga loyalists to keep their eyes and minds on. Sean Hannity, whose influential evening show on Fox is pro-Trumpian agit-prop, did his best to stoke enthusiasm on Wednesday night, during an hour in which the Epstein story did not feature at all. RussiaGate, Hannity assured his viewers, is 'a very real scandal surrounding a very real hoax that makes Watergate, frankly, look like a walk in the park'. It was an unfortunate comparison given that Watergate's denouement featured the resignation of a sitting president. But he nudged his viewership towards considering the gravity of this new set of documents released by the White House. 'Trump-Russia collusion was a fantasy, a complete lie, phoney, false conspiracy theory fed to Democrats and perpetuated by the state-run legacy media mob by the most corrupt administration in modern history. 'Now confirmation from the director of national intelligence that nearly a decade ago, the Obama White House reportedly used the full force of your federal government to delegitimatise the results of the 2016 election, malign the then president-elect Donald Trump before he even took office. 'And it was all based on lies cobbled together with an actual Russian disinformation dirty dossier bought and paid for by Donald Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.' It could be that the idea of a prosecution against Obama is stretching the credulity of even the most devout believers in the Maga doctrine of deep-state conspiracies. Their reluctance to be distracted from the Epstein files is bordering on stubborn. Another Republican senator, Eric Schmitt, had this to say about the staying power of the issue. 'I think people are kind of curious and want more information, whether it's potentially testimony or the release of credible information. A lot of people support that. 'It also probably speaks to a larger issue: People feel like the government has lied to them for so long on certain things. People would like to land on the side of more transparency.' The failure to disclose the content of the Epstein files, as repeatedly promised by key Trump administration officials, represents a breach of that promised transparency to the Maga base. Meanwhile, the questions go on. On Thursday, chief among those was why the department of justice felt the need to send an official as senior as Todd Blanche, who was Donald Trump's personal attorney during his Manhattan 'hush money' trial last year, to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, who is clearly hoping to strike some sort of plea deal. 'The Department of Justice will share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time,' Blanche wrote in a statement before confirming that another meeting would take place on Friday. It is unlikely that the intrigue and public fascination with the Epstein issue will disappear over the remainder of the summer. The scandal has taken on a momentum of its own. As Hulk Hogan used to ask in more innocent times: 'Whatcha gonna do when Hulk-a-mania runs wild on you?' For Donald Trump, the answer is to pull on a hard hat and explain nothing.