Trump Admin Drops COVID Vaccine Fraud Charges Against Utah Doctor
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday she is dropping federal charges against Dr. Michael Kirk Moore Jr., a Utah plastic surgeon who was accused of falsifying COVID-19 vaccination certificates, giving children saline shots instead of vaccines, and destroying over $28,000 worth of government-provided vaccines.
Why It Matters
This case represents a significant early policy shift by President Donald Trump's administration regarding COVID-19 vaccine enforcement and signals a broader departure from previous Justice Department priorities. The decision aligns with the administration's embrace of vaccine skepticism and could set a precedent for how federal authorities handle similar cases moving forward.
The move intensifies scrutiny of Bondi's leadership at the Justice Department, following recent firings of senior officials who worked on Trump-related investigations, raising questions about potential political influence in prosecutorial decisions.
At my direction @TheJusticeDept has dismissed charges against Dr. Kirk Moore.
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. — Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 12, 2025
What To Know
Moore, 58, from Salt Lake County, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023 alongside his medical corporation and three co-defendants, including his neighbor.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Utah Felice John Viti filed the dismissal motion Saturday, stating "such dismissal is in the interests of justice." The trial had begun Monday with jury selection in Salt Lake City and was expected to last 15 days before Bondi's intervention ended the prosecution.
According to the 2023 federal indictment, Moore and his co-defendants faced up to 35 years in prison on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to convert government property, and aiding and abetting those efforts. The charges were brought during former President Joe Biden's administration after an investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI.
The government alleged that Moore's Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah destroyed at least $28,028.50 worth of government-provided COVID-19 vaccines and distributed fraudulently completed vaccination record cards for 1,937 doses in exchange for cash payments or required "donations" to a specified charitable organization. Most significantly, the scheme allegedly involved administering saline shots to minors at their parents' request, allowing children to believe they were receiving actual COVID-19 vaccines while their parents obtained fraudulent vaccination certificates.
Bondi justified dropping the charges by arguing on social media that Moore "gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so" and stated he "did not deserve the years in prison he was facing."
The co-defendants included Kari Dee Burgoyne, 52, Kristin Jackson Andersen, 59, and Sandra Flores, 31, who worked alongside Moore in the alleged scheme.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic who refused during confirmation hearings to acknowledge scientific consensus on vaccine safety, has publicly supported Moore since April.
What People Are Saying
Attorney General Pam Bondi's X post on Saturday: "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 thanked Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor: "This would not have been possible without @RepMTG who brought this case to my attention. She has been a warrior for Dr. Moore and for ending the weaponization of government."
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s X post in April: "Dr. Moore deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!"
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Moore a hero on X and said: "We can never again allow our government to turn tyrannical under our watch."
Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge, HHS Office of Inspector General (from 2023): "By allegedly falsifying vaccine cards and administering saline shots to children instead of COVID-19 vaccines, not only did this provider endanger the health and well-being of a vulnerable population but also undermined public trust and the integrity of federal health care programs."
Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Miller, HSI Las Vegas (from 2023): "This defendant allegedly used his medical profession to administer bogus vaccines to unsuspecting people, to include children falsifying a sense of security."
The seal of the US Department of Justice is seen before the start of a press conference on health care fraud enforcement at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC on June 30, 2025.
The seal of the US Department of Justice is seen before the start of a press conference on health care fraud enforcement at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC on June 30, 2025.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
What Happens Next
The dismissal effectively ends Moore's federal prosecution, though questions remain about whether similar cases nationwide might face similar treatment under Bondi's leadership.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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What To Know The internal rift appears to stem from growing frustration over unfulfilled promises related to the Epstein case. Trump and several of his allies had long suggested that secret documents, including a so-called "client list," would be released under his administration. Bondi had previously claimed to possess such a list. But last week, the Justice Department announced that no list exists and reaffirmed that Epstein acted alone, dying by suicide in jail in 2019. The anticlimactic conclusion and the administration's refusal to release further files sparked fury from parts of Trump's base, especially activists and influencers who had built expectations around broader revelations. At the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa this weekend, chants calling for Bondi's resignation could be heard. Trump's post defending her appeared to be a direct response to that dissent, but it only fueled it further. A user called Mother Rosie wrote: "This statement breaks my heart, Mr. President. I have four daughters, and live in Texas, where families lost little children. I can't even begin to comprehend the flipped narrative that 'it was so long ago' 'why are we still talking about this' and 'nobody should care.' These victims were some ones daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughter. Someone's child. Please reconsider, sir. I voted for everything you are doing! Accountability was not something negotiable." Another woman, Crissy, who can be seen wearing a Trump-supporting beanie in her profile picture, said: "We want the ELITE PEDOS exposed! You promised us that. Pam promised us that. Kash promised us that. Now it's OUR fault bc we want that promise fulfilled and call Pam out every time she lies? What else has she lied to us about?" A third user, Dewayne Sykes, said: "This is going to cost you so many supporters. I being one of them." There will still some people speaking out in support of Trump in the comments, including from Navy veteran known as Robby F, who said: "We all want to know. But President Trump only has the evidence that these criminals left for him to find. If he gets his hands on anything that's useful, we will know." How the Analysis Was Done The data comes from an open-source GitHub repository which scrapes and stores all of Trump's Truth Social posts along with public metrics including reply count, like count, and re-truths. Using this dataset—which includes over 1,000 posts since 2022—Newsweek applied a filter to identify any posts where the number of replies exceeded both likes and shares. Only one post met that condition: the July 12, 2025 post defending Pam Bondi. Other posts in the archive occasionally drew large reply volumes, but in every case until now, likes or re-truths outnumbered them. This post represents the first—and so far only—time Trump was publicly rebuked by more of his own followers than supported him. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House, on June 27, 2025, in Washington D.C. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a press conference in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House, on June 27, 2025, in Washington D.C. Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images What People Are Saying FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X on Saturday afternoon: "The conspiracy theories just aren't true, never have been. It's an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump—and I'll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me." Far-right political activist Laura Loomer on Saturday wrote on X: "President Trump says he thinks Blondi [sic] is 'doing a Fantastic job' as AG in a post he posted on Truth Social today...." Charlie Kirk, conservative founder and president of Turning Point USA, wrote on X: "President Trump on the Epstein Files, says he supports Pam Bondi at AG, the files are untrustworthy and created by Comey and Brennan. He wants his Justice Department focused on the voter fraud, the rigged election, ActBlue, and arresting thugs and criminals." What Happens Next While Trump used his Truth Social post to try shift focus away from the Epstein controversy, his followers seem unconvinced. The administration now faces the challenge of reuniting a fractured base ahead of the 2026 midterms elections.
