Latest news with #MichaelKirkMooreJr
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Justice Department Drops Case Against Plastic Surgeon Over Fake Covid-19 Cards
The Justice Department has dismissed charges against a Utah plastic surgeon who was accused in 2023 of selling fake Covid-19 vaccine cards for $50 apiece, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post. The decision to dismiss charges against the surgeon, Dr. Michael Kirk Moore Jr., was the latest move by President Trump's administration to push back against measures taking during the pandemic regarded by many of his allies as government overreach. 'Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so,' she wrote on Saturday night. 'He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.' In the motion to dismiss the case on Saturday, Felice John Viti, the acting U.S. attorney in Utah, wrote that dropping the case was 'in the interests of justice.' Lawyers for Dr. Moore did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Trial proceedings had begun this month in Salt Lake City. Opposition to the case had attracted considerable interest among conservatives, many of whom viewed it as an example of what they said was former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s use of the judiciary to target figures on the right. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
US drops charges against doctor accused of destroying Covid vaccines
The US attorney general has ordered charges to be dropped against a doctor accused of destroying Covid-19 vaccines worth $28,000 (£20,742), distributing fake vaccination record cards, and giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine at their parents' request. Pam Bondi said Dr Michael Kirk Moore Jr. "gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so". He had been indicted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration in 2023. The plastic surgeon was already on trial in Utah, where he had pleaded not guilty to all charges including conspiracy to defraud the US. The acting US Attorney for the district of Utah, Felice John Viti, filed to dismiss the charges on Saturday, saying this was "in the interests of justice". Dr Moore was accused of providing fraudulently completed vaccination certificates for more than 1,900 vaccine doses, the US Attorney's office in Utah said in 2023. These were allegedly provided, without administering the vaccine, for a charge of $50 (£37), in exchange for direct cash payments or donations to a specific charity. The government also accused him of giving children saline shots at their parents' request so that the "children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine," according to the US attorney's office. He was accused alongside his company - Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, Inc. - and three others of seeking to defraud the US and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bondi wrote on X on Saturday that she had ordered the Justice Department to drop the charges because Dr Moore "did not deserve the years in prison he was facing". She said US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator Mike Lee, both Republicans, had brought the case to her attention, calling them champions for "ending the weaponization of government". Lee thanked the attorney general for "standing with the countless Americans who endured too many official lies, mandates, and lockdowns during COVID". Dr Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison on multiple charges, according to the Associated Press news agency. The current US Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ran a group for eight years, Children's Health Defense, that repeatedly questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccination. Kennedy has in the last year repeatedly said he is not "anti-vax" and will not be "taking away anybody's vaccines". RFK Jr appoints new US vaccine advisers after sacking committee
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
US drops charges against doctor accused of destroying Covid vaccines
The US attorney general has ordered charges to be dropped against a doctor accused of destroying Covid-19 vaccines worth $28,000 (£20,742), distributing fake vaccination record cards, and giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine at their parents' Bondi said Dr Michael Kirk Moore Jr. "gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so". He had been indicted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration in plastic surgeon was already on trial in Utah, where he had pleaded not guilty to all charges including conspiracy to defraud the US. The acting US Attorney for the district of Utah, Felice John Viti, filed to dismiss the charges on Saturday, saying this was "in the interests of justice".Dr Moore was accused of providing fraudulently completed vaccination certificates for more than 1,900 vaccine doses, the US Attorney's office in Utah said in were allegedly provided, without administering the vaccine, for a charge of $50 (£37), in exchange for direct cash payments or donations to a specific government also accused him of giving children saline shots at their parents' request so that the "children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine," according to the US attorney's was accused alongside his company - Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, Inc. - and three others of seeking to defraud the US and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bondi wrote on X on Saturday that she had ordered the Justice Department to drop the charges because Dr Moore "did not deserve the years in prison he was facing".She said US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator Mike Lee, both Republicans, had brought the case to her attention, calling them champions for "ending the weaponization of government".Lee thanked the attorney general for "standing with the countless Americans who endured too many official lies, mandates, and lockdowns during COVID".Dr Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison on multiple charges, according to the Associated Press news current US Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ran a group for eight years, Children's Health Defense, that repeatedly questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccination. Kennedy has in the last year repeatedly said he is not "anti-vax" and will not be "taking away anybody's vaccines".
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Washington Post
Amid Epstein backlash, Bondi ends case against MAGA-backed Utah doctor
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday ordered an abrupt end to the Justice Department's prosecution of a Utah plastic surgeon charged with running a covid-19 fraud scheme, a case that had drawn backlash from prominent Republican lawmakers and vaccine skeptics. Michael Kirk Moore Jr. and three others connected to his practice were indicted in January 2023 on allegations that they destroyed coronavirus vaccines, issued fake vaccination cards and injected patients with saline instead of the vaccine per their request.
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump's attorney general drops fraud case tied to Covid vaccinations
US attorney general Pam Bondi argued that the doctor charged with falsifying vaccine records didn't warrant imprisonment. (EPA Images pic) WASHINGTON : US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday dropped a case against a Utah doctor accused of falsifying Covid-19 vaccination certificates and destroying more than US$28,000 worth of government-provided Covid-19 vaccines. Bondi, in a statement posted on X, said Michael Kirk Moore Jr of Salt Lake County, Utah, did not deserve the jail time he was facing. Moore was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2023, and his trial had begun earlier this month. '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,' Bondi said. Covid-19 vaccine sceptics have been embraced by the Trump administration. The Pentagon, for example, has sought to re-enlist servicemembers who were ousted for refusing to be vaccinated during the pandemic. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who for decades has sown doubt about the safety of vaccines contrary to evidence and research by scientists, wrote on X in April: 'Dr. Moore deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!' According to a 2023 statement from the US attorney's office in Utah, Moore allegedly ran the false certifications out of a plastic surgery centre. His activities allegedly included administering saline shots to minors, at the request of their parents, so the children would think they were receiving Covid-19 vaccines, the statement said. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a US lawmaker from Georgia and staunch Trump supporter, had championed dropping the case against Moore, who she called a hero in a statement on Saturday. 'We can never again allow our government to turn tyrannical under our watch,' she said in a post on X. The latest move by Bondi comes amid scrutiny of her firings of senior justice department officials who worked on investigations into Trump, stoking accusations of political retribution in a department whose mission is to enforce US laws.
