Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Saturday that her office is abandoning all criminal charges against Utah plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, who had been on trial for allegedly providing counterfeit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID‑19 vaccination cards.
Moore was indicted by the Justice Department in 2023, alongside his medical corporation and three colleagues, for purportedly destroying more than $28,000 worth of federally supplied vaccine doses and distributing at least 1,937 falsified COVID‑19 entries on official cards in exchange for cash payments or donations to a charitable fund. Prosecutors said the group sold each bogus card for $50 between May 2021 and September 2022.
Status of the Co‑Defendants
- Moore: Pleaded not guilty; all charges now dismissed.
- Co‑defendant A: Accepted a misdemeanor plea.
- Co‑defendant B: Entered a diversion agreement.
- Co‑defendant C: Currently on trial with Moore; the Justice Department has not yet said whether the dismissal will extend to this defendant.
Defense and Prosecution Arguments
Moore’s lawyers argued in court filings that the federal vaccination rules he is accused of violating were unconstitutional. Prosecutors countered that Moore never administered actual vaccines; instead, they allege, he injected some minors with saline at their parents’ request so the children would believe they had been immunized. The indictment also charged the defendants with conspiring to convert and dispose of government property by destroying vaccine vials.
Bondi’s Statement
“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 wrote on X. She thanked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an outspoken critic of COVID‑19 vaccines, for championing Moore’s cause: “She has been a warrior for Dr. Moore and for ending the weaponization of government.”
Greene, in her own post, called Moore a “hero who refused to inject his patients with a government‑mandated unsafe vaccine.”
Wider DOJ Turmoil
The high‑profile dismissal lands at a turbulent moment for the Justice Department. Bondi is already at odds with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over an internal review of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation; sources say Bongino skipped work on Friday and is weighing resignation amid the dispute.
Whether the dropped charges will affect Moore’s remaining co‑defendant—or signal additional shake‑ups inside the department—remains to be seen.
