Lawyers call for ‘remedy’ whistleblower to be reinstated

WASHINGTON — American federal investigators have found “reasonable grounds” that a government whistleblower was punished for speaking out against widespread use of an unproven drug that President Donald Trump touted as a remedy for COVID-19, lawyers said Friday.

Dr. Rick Bright headed the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a unit of Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on countermeasures to infectious diseases and bioterrorism. He had received a job performance review of outstanding before he was summarily transferred last month, with his agency email cut off without warning.

Investigators with the Office of Special Counsel “made a threshold determination that HHS violated the Whistleblower Protection Act by removing Dr. Bright from his position because he made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public,” Bright’s lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, said. The OSC investigates allegations of egregious personnel practices in government.

The lawyers said investigators are requesting that the Department of Health and Human Services temporarily reinstate Bright for 45 days until they can complete their probe. There was no comment Friday from the department. OSC spokesman Zachary Kurz said his agency “cannot comment on or confirm the status of open investigations.”

Trump shrugged off the preliminary ruling on Bright’s complaint. “I don’t know who he is, but to me, he’s a disgruntled employee,” Trump told reporters. “If people are that unhappy, they shouldn’t work. If you’re unhappy with a company, you shouldn’t work there.”

Bright’s allegations involved hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug Trump promoted as a “game changer” with little evidence. Bright said the Trump administration wanted to “flood” hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug.