Table of Contents
A federal appeals court grilled Justice Department lawyers Wednesday over the government’s push to permanently kill a whistleblower lawsuit accusing Pfizer of fraud in its COVID-19 vaccine trials, even as new revelations emerge that the FDA privately acknowledges child deaths linked to the shots.
"The government really sort of made our case for us," whistleblower attorney Warner Mendenhall told the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing the DOJ is demanding unchecked power to silence relators when federal regulators may be "complicit" with alleged fraudsters.
The case stems from Brook Jackson, a former regional director for Ventavia Research Group, a Pfizer contractor.
Jackson says she was fired hours after flagging serious protocol violations to the FDA in September 2020.
She sued Pfizer under the False Claims Act in 2021, alleging fraudulent data helped secure emergency authorization and billions in taxpayer funds.
Both the Biden and second Trump administrations have sought dismissal, insisting the vaccine would have been authorized regardless of any misconduct.
DOJ attorney Nicole Smith told the three-judge panel that "the government’s desire to dismiss itself constitutes good cause" and that courts have no role once the government moves to intervene.
Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod pushed back repeatedly.
"Why is it called 'good cause'?" Elrod asked.
"That sounds like that’s a standard where you have to reach a certain goal," she said, noting Smith appeared to argue "it’s just the government’s prerogative."
Judge Don Willett questioned whether "desire alone" is sufficient or if the government "must … always … have some articulated reason."
Mendenhall warned that upholding permanent dismissal would tell future whistleblowers, "If fraud involves government complicity, don’t bother reporting it."
He cited a leaked FDA memo in which Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Vinay Prasad reportedly told staff at least 10 children died "after and because of" COVID-19 vaccinations, with the agency planning stricter safety standards.
The 5th Circuit took the case under submission. No timeline for a ruling was given.
The panel’s skepticism, particularly from Trump appointee Elrod, leaves open the possibility that Jackson’s lawsuit could be revived – a rare rebuke to the Justice Department’s broad claim of authority over False Claims Act cases it declines to join.
