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richard bright
'Totally Under Control': New, Secretly-Filmed Documentary Details Trump's Colossal Covid-19 Failures
"We, the scientists, knew what to do for the pandemic response," says former federal vaccine expert Dr. Rick Bright in the film. "It is time to lay our careers on the line and push back."
Oct 14, 2020
Several public health experts who have spent this year watching as President Donald Trump has ignored, refuted, and openly mocked their guidance on the coronavirus pandemic are among those interviewed in a new documentary titled "Totally Under Control"--coming forward to give an insider's account of how the Trump administration's severe mismanagement of the crisis led to more than 216,000 deaths in the United States so far.
"Should open-minded viewers decide to watch 'Totally Under Control,' they're likely to feel snapped awake, as if from a long, horrifying national trance."
--Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Directed by Alex Gibney--whose previous documentary subjects include the energy company Enron, the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and the church of Scientology--the trailer for the film begins with reports of the first confirmed Covid-19 case in the U.S. on January 20 and concludes with the president making the claim that the documentary is named after, telling a reporter that the pandemic is "totally under control."
The experts featured in the trailer and film make clear that while the U.S. had at its disposal every resource it needed to save hundreds of thousands of lives, the federal government refused to prepare healthcare workers and the general public for the crisis, choosing instead to downplay the pandemic.
"We, the scientists, knew what to do for the pandemic response," says Dr. Rick Bright, a vaccine expert who was ousted from his role at the Health and Human Services Department after objecting to Trump's Covid-19 response. "The plan was in front of us but leadership would not do it. It is time to lay our careers on the line and push back."
Watch:
The film was made in secret, and also includes interviews with former CDC director Tom Frieden, Dr. Taison Bell of University of Virginia, and Michael Bowen, an executive at medical supply company Prestige Ameritech whose offer to produce N95 masks was dismissed by federal officials in January.
"Political leaders caused avoidable death and destruction," Frieden, who served under the Obama administration, says in the trailer.
In the two-hour film, Gibney focuses significantly on a "missing six weeks" in February and March when the federal government failed to implement a widespread testing strategy and the CDC went ahead with the development of a faulty test kit. The administration "squandered the critical window for containing the virus" during that time, wrote Adrian Horton at The Guardian.
Around the same time, Trump spoke with veteran journalist Bob Woodward, who later released audio recordings of the president stating clearly that he understood the virus to be highly deadly and virulent to people of all ages--even as he was publicly saying Covid-19 would likely "disappear" on its own in a matter of weeks or months.
"They knew all this, and yet they refused to act," Gibney told The Guardian.
Reviewers of the film at The Guardian and the Washington Post wrote that "Totally Under Control" will likely be most widely viewed and appreciated by people who are already familiar with and critical of the president's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
But "should open-minded viewers decide to watch 'Totally Under Control,'" wrote Ann Hornaday at the Post, "they're likely to feel snapped awake, as if from a long, horrifying national trance. Let's hope they keep awake, and stay angry."
"Totally Under Control" is available to rent on streaming platforms including YouTube and iTunes, and will be available on Hulu on October 20.
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WATCH LIVE: Whistleblower Dr. Rick Bright Testifies on Failures of Trump Administration's Covid-19 Response
The ousted federal scientist is expected to offer damning testimony.
May 14, 2020
Dr. Rick Bright, the ousted director of federal office dedicated to vaccines and infectious diseases, is expected to criticize the Trump administration's lackluster and chaotic response to the coronavirus pandemic and warn of the 'darkest winter in modern history' to come if the outbreak is not brought under control during a House hearing on Thursday.
Bright is testifying at before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, chaired by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.).
"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," Bright is expected to say in his prepared testimony.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00am ET. Watch it live:
Bright, who was until April the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at HHS, filed a whistleblower complaint last week stating that he was demoted after objecting to President Donald Trump's promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19. The president's repeated mentions of the anti-malarial drug are believed to be linked to a number of overdoses.
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Warning US Could Face 'Darkest Winter in Modern History,' Ousted Whistleblower Demands Science-Based Pandemic Response
"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."
May 13, 2020
Dr. Rick Bright, the vaccine expert who was reportedly ousted from his position at the Health and Human Services Department after he objected to the Trump administration's Covid-19 response, plans to issue a grave warning Thursday when he testifies before a House committee regarding the his push for a science-based approach to the pandemic.
According to his written testimony, which was obtained by news outlets on Wednesday, Bright plans to tell the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health that "our window of opportunity" to avoid a deadly second wave of the coronavirus next fall is closing.
"We need to be truthful with the American people... The truth must be based on scientific evidence--and not filtered for political reasons."
--Dr. Rick Bright, former BARDA director
"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," Bright's testimony reads. "Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history."
Bright, who was until April the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at HHS, filed a whistleblower complaint last week stating that he was demoted after objecting to President Donald Trump's promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19. The president's repeated mentions of the anti-malarial drug are believed to be linked to a number of overdoses.
Bright also clashed with HHS leaders including Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response, over the department's decision to ignore a medical supply company which offered in January to manufacture up to seven million N95 masks per month. The offer came when Covid-19 was spreading around the world and had been reported in only one patient in the United States, and Bright wrote in his whistleblower complaint that it and other warnings fell "on deaf ears."
"I spoke out then and I am testifying today because science--not politics or cronyism--must lead the way to combat this deadly virus," Bright plans to tell the committee.
In his testimony Thursday, Bright will outline four crucial steps the federal government must take to avoid a second wave of the pandemic later this year:
- Ramping up production of medical supplies.
- Facilitating equitable distribution of equipment to all states.
- Developing a national testing strategy, ensuring tests are accurate, rapid, easy to use, low cost, and available to everyone who needs them.
- Increasing public education about Covid-19 prevention.
"We need to be truthful with the American people... The truth must be based on scientific evidence--and not filtered for political reasons," Bright wrote.
He added that "our leaders must lead by modeling the behavior" needed to stop the spread of Covid-19, including mask-wearing--a likely reference to reports that new White House rules requiring masks do not apply to the president, and to images of Vice President Mike Pence visiting a coronavirus ward without a mask.
Bright's testimony will come two days after Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned lawmakers that the U.S. could face "needless suffering and death" if the government reopens the economy too quickly.
"We will either be remembered for what we did or for what we failed to do to address this crisis," Bright said. "I call on all of us to act--to ensure the health, safety, and prosperity of all Americans."
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'Criminal Negligence': Trump Officials Ignored Company's Offer to Make 7 Million N95 Masks Per Month in Early Days of Pandemic
Federal scientist Rick Bright described his communications with Prestige Ameritech in his whistleblower report regarding the administration's response to the Covid-19 crisis.
May 10, 2020
Progressives on Saturday denounced an "infuriating" report which detailed the Department of Health and Human Services' refusal to take an American company up on its offer to supply millions of N95 respirators to the government early on in the coronavirus pandemic.
The Washington Post reported that federal scientist Rick Bright, who filed a whistleblower complaint last week over his demotion following his criticism of the Trump administration's response to the pandemic, detailed communications with Prestige Ameritech in January in which HHS ignored the medical supply company's offer to produce masks.
The head of the Ft. Worth-based company, Michael Bowen, wrote to HHS on January 23, two days after the U.S. confirmed its first case of Covid-19.
Bowen offered to use four dormant production lines to produce as many as seven million N95 masks per month, but was told by Laura Wolf, director of the Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection at HHS, "I don't believe we as a government are anywhere near answering those questions for you yet."
"We are the last major domestic mask company," replied Bowen, who at the time was fulfilling orders for masks from all over the world. "My phones are ringing now, so I don't 'need' government business. I'm just letting you know that I can help you preserve our infrastructure if things ever get really bad."
In Bright's whistleblower complaint, he described how he tried to direct Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec's attention to Bowen's offer in late January. Bowen wrote to Bright following his communications with Wolf that "U.S. mask supply is at imminent risk," and adding a blunt warning: "Rick, I think we're in deep shit."
Bright demanded to know from Kadlec why Bowen's offer had fallen "on deaf ears."
"We have been watching and receiving warnings on this for over a week," the scientist wrote.
The agency's refusal to take Bowen up on his offer early on helped lead to a crisis weeks later, as healthcare workers across the country reported severe shortages of N95 masks as well as other personal protective equipment needed to stop the spread of Covid-19 in healthcare settings. As the Trump administration denied several times that it was responsible for making sure states had the supplies they needed, states were forced in bidding wars with one another over equipment orders that they placed directly with manufacturers.
The details Bright offered in his whistleblower complaint painted a picture of "criminal negligence," wrote New York Times editorial board member Brent Staples.
Others on social media expressed shock at the Post's report.
"I don't even have words to describe how poorly Donald Trump has handled this crisis," wrote Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) in response to the story.
In addition to pressing HHS officials on Bowen's offer, Bright was critical of President Donald Trump's promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19. The scientist had also clashed with Kadlec earlier in Trump's term, when Kadlec urged Bright to transfer $40 million from Bright's department at HHS to the Strategic National Stockpile in 2018 to purchase a drug made by manufacturer Alvogen, the client of a lobbyist who had connections to the Trump administration.
On Friday, a federal probe found that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Trump administration unlawfully retaliated against Bright by demoting him.
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Probe by Federal Agency Finds 'Reasonable Grounds to Believe' HHS Whistleblower's Ouster Was Retaliation by Trump Officials
"This country is in an unprecedented health crisis and needs the expertise of Dr. Bright to lead the nation’s efforts to combat Covid-19," said whistleblower's lawyers.
May 08, 2020
The federal watchdog agency that oversees complaints by government employees has concluded there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Trump administration unlawfully retaliated against government scientist Dr. Richard Bright by removing from his position at Health and Human Services amid the coronavirus outbreak after raising objections to the White House's approach to the pandemic.
According to a statement put out by Bright's legal team, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel--which investigated the vaccine specialist's reassignment alongside the whistleblower complaint he filed earlier this week--arrived at "a threshold determination" that HHS had "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."
Speaking with reporters after filing the whistleblower complaint on Tuesday, Bright says he was pressured by Trump officials at HHS "to let politics and cronyism drive decisions over the opinions of the best scientists we have in government."
According to CNN's reporting on Friday, citing Bright's lawyers, the Office of Special Counsel is recommending he be reinstated during the investigation.
Bright, an immunology and vaccine expert who until last month was the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), said in addition to retaliation for objecting to President Donald Trump's public insistence that hydroxychloroquine was effective at treating Covid-19, he faced sustained pressure from HHS officials since the beginning of the Trump administration to steer millions of dollars in contracts to the client of lobbyist John Clerici.
While the determination arrives as a repudiation of the administration's ouster of Bright, the New York Times notes that the Special Counsel's guidance--including the call for Dr. Bright to be reinstated at his previous position while a more complete investigation is conducted--is not binding on President Trump or other officials.
"A year ago," the Times reports, "the same office said Mr. Trump's senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, should be fired for repeatedly violating legal prohibitions on using her position for political purposes. Mr. Trump ignored the recommendation."
According to his legal team, not reinstating Bright to his position would be a disservice not only their client, but to the country as a whole.
"Dr. Bright should not be denied the right to have his complaint investigated fully and fairly before he is formally transferred to N.I.H.--a move that will harm not only him, but the country as well,"the lawyers said. "This country is in an unprecedented health crisis and needs the expertise of Dr. Bright to lead the nation's efforts to combat Covid-19."
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