TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court granted Governor Ron DeSantis’ petition to impanel a grand jury in order to investigate potential crimes committed in relation to COVID-19 vaccines.
The statewide grand jury will investigate individuals, persons, associations and entities involved in the “design, development, clinical testing or investigation, manufacture, marketing, representation, advertising, promotion, labeling, distribution, formulation, packing, sale, purchase, donation, dispensing, prescribing, administration, or use of vaccines purported to prevent COVID-19 infection, symptoms, and transmission.”
BROAD MANDATE
This is a remarkably broad mandate, which could technically lead to indictments of top U.S. and foreign politicians and officials – all the way down to the pharmacist giving out mRNA shots at your local pharmacy.
The governor’s petition, submitted on December 13, specifically mentions statements and actions regarding the vaccines’ safety and efficacy by Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“It is impossible to imagine that so many influential individuals came to this view on their own. Rather, it is likely that individuals and companies with an incentive to do so created these perceptions for financial gain,” the petition to the Florida Supreme Court reads.
MENTIONS RICO ACT
The language above – “on their own” – may provide a hint of what legal consequences the governor and his team hope to bring to the alleged perpetrators: racketeering and conspiracy charges. Another indicator of this is the fact that the petition specifically mentions Florida Statutes Chapter 895 – Florida RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization) Act.
The Florida Supreme Court’s decision gives the grand jury a broad mandate to investigate most conceivable aspects related to the promotion of COVID-19 vaccines, including “other criminal activity or wrongdoing that the statewide grand jury uncovers during the course of the investigation” and what the grand jury deems to be “connected with an organized criminal conspiracy affecting two or more judicial circuits.”
The statewide grand jury will be chaired by Chief Judge Ronald Ficarrotta of the
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is designated as the primary investigator.
Out of the seven judges on the Florida Supreme Court, only one – Judge Jorge Labarga – wanted to decline the governor’s petition. Judge Renatha Francis did not participate.
