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In testimony to be given before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee Thursday, another Trump administration whistleblower will state the United States is headed for "unprecedented illness and fatalities" unless additional preparations are made.
Dr. Rick Bright's testimony was first obtained by CNN and has since been made public.
Breaking via Axios: Dr. Rick Bright is expected to testify that the Trump admin was unprepared for the coronavirus,… https://t.co/FqNdFZ6bM0— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1589387103.0
Dr. Bright served as the director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) from November 2016 until April of this year. He had been with the agency since 2010.
According to the former BARDA head:
"On April 21, 2020, I was removed from my positions as the Director of BARDA and HHS (Health and Human Services) Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response by HHS leadership and involuntarily transferred to a more limited and less impactful position at the National Institutes of Health."
"I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest funding allocated to BARDA by Congress to address the pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit."
"While my intention in testifying today is to be forward looking, I spoke out then and I am testifying today because science—not politics or cronyism—must lead the way to combat this deadly virus."
Regarding his dire prediction, Bright will state:
"I continue to believe that we must act urgently to effectively combat this deadly disease. Our window of opportunity is closing."
"If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities."
The public health expert will offer another warning to the subcommittee members.
His written testimony states:
"Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be darkest winter in modern history."
Bright's whistleblower complaint filed last week alleged his removal was a direct result of his opposition to pushing for the broad use of President Donald Trump's recommended pandemic treatment.
Dr. Rick Bright, the ousted director of the office involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine, formally filed an… https://t.co/7e9sCx4DHN— Kaitlan Collins (@Kaitlan Collins) 1588704106.0
"The past few years have been beyond challenging. Time after time I was pressured to ignore or dismiss expert and s… https://t.co/zmCAUvjX2r— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1588709443.0
He plans to reiterate it in his testimony Thursday, stating:
"[I] resisted efforts to promote and enable broad access to an unproven drug, chloroquine, to the American people without transparent information on the potential health risks."
People were not surprised by Bright's claims or his warnings.
@DavidCayJ @AP I very much appreciate immunologist Dr. Rick Bright's continued efforts to help us control illnesses… https://t.co/2YyJS9HKDK— Margie D (@Margie D) 1589407385.0
"window of opportunity" for coordinated plan closing on #Covid19, Rick Bright to warn. But that window has been sla… https://t.co/mVUWyFea0O— John Carroll (@John Carroll) 1589407858.0
It's good to keep in mind that at this late date we still have no coordinated national response. Trump quietly drop… https://t.co/6pidK8cO5X— anne cunningham (@anne cunningham) 1589407871.0
@kylegriffin1 But China. But Hillary. But impeachment hoax.— Lira (@Lira) 1589387299.0
@LoudmouthLira @kylegriffin1 But Obama.— $Iя çДt ЪД££$ ₱ӉD (@$Iя çДt ЪД££$ ₱ӉD) 1589387368.0
@Amy_Siskind I BELIEVE Dr. Rick Bright— The Resistor Sister ♥️🇺🇸🦅 (@The Resistor Sister ♥️🇺🇸🦅) 1589407524.0
@kylegriffin1 Major Respect for Dr. Bright’s Courage to Speak Out on behalf of the American People. Thank You, Dr. Bright! 🙌🏼— 🌎𝐖𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞🌍 (@🌎𝐖𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞🌍) 1589387215.0
Several cited Dr. Bright when they took their Republican legislators and members of the Trump administration to task over the federal pandemic response.
@SenCapito If you had gotten rid of Trump when you had the chance, you could have saved lies. Rick Bright makes it… https://t.co/s12C0ddbQB— The Cativist (@The Cativist) 1589408262.0
@HHSGov @SecAzar @POTUS YOU were warned in Jan, Feb, March By Rick Bright above COVID-19. You did NOTHING. YOU ar… https://t.co/yy0mAU8Cpq— The Cativist (@The Cativist) 1589408178.0
@tedcruz Because it’s not stunning. It was routine. But Rick Bright’s opening statement is news!— Amanda Durant (@Amanda Durant) 1589408297.0
@kylegriffin1 We are used by now to republican presidents creating a huge mess for the following democrat president… https://t.co/Y8QuXZ9O6a— Gravitational Waves 🌊🌊🌊 30-50 Rogue Waves (@Gravitational Waves 🌊🌊🌊 30-50 Rogue Waves) 1589387417.0
Whistleblower Rick Bright warns Trump leading U.S. into ‘darkest winter’ of coronavirus - All I wanna say is, god h… https://t.co/13Wy2mpG0s— Tony (@Tony) 1589408185.0
@kylegriffin1 https://t.co/VY8zdTwtyt— T. Beaumont (@T. Beaumont) 1589387817.0
Dr. Bright is slated to testify on Thursday. You can read his full written testimony here.
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