
Charges dropped against Utah doctor accused of destroying $28,000 in Covid vaccines
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on the social media platform X that charges against Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, of Midvale, Utah, were dismissed at her direction.
Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison after being charged with conspiracy to defraud the government; conspiracy to convert, sell, convey and dispose of government property; and aiding and abetting in those efforts. The charges were brought when Joe Biden was president.
"Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so," Bondi wrote. "He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today."
Felice John Viti, acting U.S. attorney for Utah, filed the motion Saturday, saying "such dismissal is in the interests of justice."
The trial began Monday in Salt Lake City with jury selection. It was expected to last 15 days.
Messages sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, Viti's office in Salt Lake City and to Moore were not immediately returned Saturday.
A federal grand jury on Jan. 11, 2023, returned an indictment against Moore, his Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc., others associated with the clinic and a neighbor of Moore's. The indictment alleged more than $28,000 of government-provided Covid-19 vaccine doses were destroyed.
They were also accused of providing fraudulently completed vaccination record cards for over 1,900 doses of the vaccine in exchange for either a cash or a donation to a specified charitable organization.
The government also alleged some children were given saline shots, at their parents' request, so the minors believed they were getting the vaccine.
Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a leading anti-vaccine activist before becoming the nation's top health official, posted his support for Moore in April, saying on X that Moore "deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!"
During his confirmation hearings in January, Kennedy repeatedly refused to acknowledge scientific consensus that childhood vaccines don't cause autism and that Covid-19 vaccines saved millions of lives.
In a follow-up X post on Saturday, Bondi said Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene brought the case to her attention.
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Reuters
4 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ex-DOJ employees sue Bondi for wrongful termination
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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
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Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE parents of three children who were allegedly trapped in a hellish "House of Horrors" since the Covid pandemic face 25 years in prison. The three boys were found by cops after parents Christian Steffen, 53, and his wife Melissa Ann Steffen, 48, were arrested on suspicion of child abuse. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 The parents of three children held in a 'house of horrors' face 25 years in jail Credit: Solarpix 7 German-born Christian Steffen, 53 faces the charges along with his wife Melissa Ann Steffen, 48 Credit: Solarpix 7 The house was full of rubbish and pet excrement Credit: Solarpix The young German boys, two eight-year-old twins and one 10-year-old, were said to have been found in horrific conditions at the property in Spain. Each of them had allegedly been forced to wear three face masks and wear nappies - and made to sleep in caged beds, a source close to the investigation revealed. Pictures from inside the house in Oviedo showed the boys' bed frames covered in horrifying drawings while they were trapped inside blacked out rooms devoid of any sunlight. But despite the piles of rubbish and excrement inside the house it is thought that the two parents were terrified of germs getting into their home. Referring to the parents, the public prosecutor's office said it "seeks convictions for each of them totalling 25 years and 4 months in prison, among other penalties and measures". They are accused of habitual psychological violence and unlawful detention after allegedly keeping their children locked up from December 2021 to April 2025. The prosecutor confirmed speculation that the children were "locked up due to an unfounded fear of contracting some disease" at the home in the small Asturian town of Fitoria. Authorities also demanded that the parents be barred from ever contacting their children ever again, as well as pay a £13,000 fine. The parents have also reportedly recently filed an appeal against their pre-trial detention - but it was rejected, La Voz de Asturias reported. It was previously revealed that the youngsters were only saved thanks to a university professor's secret diary. Connecticut woman who allegedly held stepson captive for over 20 years pleads not guilty The female neighbour, called Silvia, handed cops a 'forensic detective' diary made up of a series of data which showed kids were being held at the Steffen's home. German-born Christian was registered as the only resident in the affluent home after he started to rent the property in October 2021. Silvia, who lives just 65ft away from the home, first jotted down claims that she witnessed a little girl playing in the garden. 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After collecting the detailed dossier, the professor handed her notes over to the cops on April 14. They started to investigate the serious accusations and soon discovered nappies were being purchased. This sparked a major search inside the property so police could see what was going on inside shortly before Spain's historic blackout. Police would go on to thank Silvia for noticing the peculiar shopping list as they labelled the spot as the key clue which helped them arrest the parents. A city hall source told respected Spanish daily El Mundo: 'The neighbour had collected evidence that during school hours no-one left the house and expressed with certainty there had to be children living there, and even claimed to have seen them. 'The shopping list was the clue that set it all off. 'It was the list of a family, not a single person, and there was something that didn't fit at all which was the striking amount of nappies.' 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Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Midlothian sees rise for mobility aids searches as government gets tough on disability support.
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