Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday that she is dismissing the criminal charges against a Utah plastic surgeon who was currently on trial for allegedly issuing fake Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination records cards to people who sought fake vaccine cards.
Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, whose criminal trial was currently underway in Utah, was indicted by the Justice Department in 2023. Moore, his medical corporation and three co-defendants were accused of allegedly destroying more than $28,000 worth of government-provided COVID-19 vaccines and distributing at least 1,937 falsely marked COVID-19 doses on vaccine cards in exchange for direct cash payments or donations to a charitable organization.
Moore pleaded not guilty to the charges, while one of his co-defendants entered into a plea agreement for a misdemeanor charge and another co-defendant entered into a diversion agreement. One co-defendant is currently on trial with Moore. A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to questions on whether or not the charges against them would be dropped as well.
In court filings, attorneys for Moore argued that the CDC vaccine regulations in place were unconstitutional.
The Biden Justice Department alleged that Moore was not administering COVID-19 vaccines in exchange for the payment, and was administering saline shots to minors, at the request of their parents, so children would think they were receiving a vaccine dose.
Moore and his co-defendants were also charged with conspiracy to convert, sell, convey, and dispose of government property; and the conversion, sale, conveyance, and disposal of government property and aiding and abetting for their efforts to forge the vaccine cards.
The fake cards were sold for $50 each, charging documents said, during the scheme they allegedly operated between May 2021 and September 2022.
“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, thanking Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has a history of casting doubts on the efficacy of COVID vaccines, for raising awareness of his case. “She has been a warrior for Dr. Moore and for ending the weaponization of government,” Bondi wrote.
In a post on X on Saturday, Greene called Moore a “hero who refused to inject his patients with a government mandated unsafe vaccine!”
It was not immediately clear if the charges were being dismissed for Moore’s co-defendants.
The announcement comes as the department is facing uncertainty after a clash between Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino over a Justice Department review of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, which led to Bongino not showing up for work on Friday, as sources say he is considering leaving his post over the dispute.
Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” where he worked with Brennan for two years on the broadcast. Rosen has been a producer for several CBS News podcasts, including “The Takeout,” “The Debrief” and “Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen.”
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