WPI vs Mikovits: Kangaroo Court In Session

“This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.”
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

The WPI’s lawsuit against it’s former chief scientist continues to cut its swath of destruction through the heart of the ME/CFS community. Dr. Judy was forced to declare bankruptcy yesterday. She has already spent her retirement on lawyers and now she will lose one, if not both, of her two small condominiums, which one still to be determined by a bankruptcy trustee. And most importantly, she isn’t working on our behalf…

Here’s a letter posted this morning on the Messages of Support for Dr. Judy Mikovits FaceBook page (there are several such pages with hundreds of members):

Dear Judy,
It is beyond me that in this day and age this injustice is allowed. I am not a naive person but I had hoped that the 21st Century would bring a greater justice and compassion to the world.
How can these corrupt people be able to ruin, mentally, physically and personally an innocent and truly good individual?
I am deeply sad.

Me too. It is beyond crazy. A travesty of justice. A misuse of the system. The WPI, a non-profit, spent large amounts of money on lawyers to write hundreds of pages of legal documents, to destroy what was in fact their only resource. To what end? They knew there was nothing to get monetarily. An apology? What a joke. Even if they were right, which they aren’t, what would someone interested in the greater good have done when confronted with the problems that Annette Whittemore was confronted with?

In a nutshell, this is where the case stands. The first judge ruled against Dr. Mikovits in a default judgement because she wouldn’t give up her personal email which contained confidential information on many study participants. Then he recused himself to make sure there was no appearance of impropriety, since he had received significant campaign contributions from Harvey Whittemore, who is under indictment for making illegal political contributions and lying to the FBI, not to mention his other business problems: Ex-business partners: Whittemores owe more than $24M. Of course, Harvey claims to have nothing to do with the WPI. So a new judge was appointed. One would have thought that the opportunity would have been seized to right the wrong and run the case as it should have been run in the first place, but no, the judge decided to continue where the old judge left off, leaving the judgement in place, with a “prove up” hearing scheduled for today, to determine an amount, thus forcing the bankruptcy.

The WPI wants Dr. Mikovits to pay for their loss of donations compared to before she was fired. As if they didn’t cause it all with their own actions!! They didn’t have a fund raiser this year because who would be there? They want back her entire 5 years of salary, during which she was desperately trying to, and in fact did, help their daughter. Plus, they want the entire cost of the research program from inception. Oh, and the punitive multiplier for her “bad behavior” since she was fired! And they want their legal fees, so they don’t have to defraud the community and the NIH to pay their lawyers. Of course Dr. Mikovits has no money…

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, not a peep of anything worthwhile, not a paper, not even a kept up website: Research Studies and Clinical Trials. Just pleas for more money. Perhaps for the CEO’s upcoming defense? Although the piece by Casey Schwartz in the Daily Beast, How Research into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Turned into an Ugly Fight, had the toned down feel of tight editorial control, it did state that Dr. Mikovits was fired after demanding the commercial lab, VIP Dx, stop selling an unreproducible test.

In July 2011 she told Harvey Whittemore of the potential contamination, she says, and expected that the VIP Dx lab would cease testing patients for the XMRV virus. “I just kept saying, stop it, stop it, stop it. We have to sort this out,” Mikovits says. According to Mikovits, the testing did not stop. And after a tense summer, she was fired in September.

Let’s not forget what this is really about, not some imaginary IP in some old notebooks, but the thousands of bogus tests that were sold, some after they knew they were bogus, some paid for by Medicare?

The fall out from it all? The WPI’s legacy, from an advocate of 20 years, posted to FaceBook last night and republished with permission.

My Opinion: We’ve been ized
~by John Herd

The Whittemores overly self-mesmerized
Their grandiosity so fantasized
Just because of money legitimized?
They expected to be idealized

Constructive input demonized
As sound advocates often minimalized
While many amongst us patronized
And those with differing views were ostracized

Obligations amortized
Stupid actions authorized
Moral integrity compromised
“For the sake of patients” bastardized

Sound PR strategies brutalized
With so much about WPI fictionalized
In fake news coverage televised
Fabrications on the Internet digitalized

Research assets cannibalized
Clinically unvalidated test commercialized
Protecting scientific data criminalized
While Judy Mikovits sat in jail demoralized

Judicial corruption legalized
Their lavish travel and living publicized
Questionable scientific integrity sanitized
As their research director was victimized

The whole view of CFS jeopardized
By the WPI saga being so scandalized
An insult to patients already traumatized
From misinformed views of the illness so hypothesized

All WPI’s books should be scrutinized
With all their records analyzed
If they’ve not yet been sterilized
And financial assets vaporized

From the CFS world they should be exorcised
Because they added to our being even more stigmatized
Let’s face it, we’ve been sodomized
But oh how nicely Annette is accessorized

 

Today’s song: Which Side Are You On? Performed by Natalie Merchant

And a modern version of this classic protest song by Ani Difranco

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19 thoughts on “WPI vs Mikovits: Kangaroo Court In Session

  1. I don’t know details about Dr. Judy nor Chase Foundation, but –
    I wonder if it’s possible to try to set up Dr. Judy as a charity so
    she can perhaps get cash from Chase the way WPI did last year ?
    If Dr. Judy was to get cash it’d probably have to be a salary
    for research, in order to be a charity.
    I don’t know if this is feasible, but I thought I’d thow it out to
    those of you who’re more lucid and knowledgeable than I.

  2. I hope anyone who finds news on the hearing today will post it here. The lawsuits against Harvey Whittemore make the papers in Nevada on a regular basis. Nothing about chronic fatigue syndrome. We are the ghosts.

    • How much influence do the Whittemore’s have over the newspapers? We know Nevada Newsmakers is hosted by a WPI board member.

  3. There is no hearing today. Dr. Mikovits was forced to file bankruptcy which stopped the civil damages hearing from proceeding.

  4. Great idea Paul!

    Judy, words don’t come close to saying how I feel about this. An honest person like yourself deserves none of this. You are not alone. People around the world are not going to abandon you.

    Annette and Harvey you would look fabulous in orange jumpsuits.

  5. I do think it would be reasonable for all the people who paid to be tested at VIPdx to start a class to get their wasted money back.

    • VIP Dx is only a trading name for REDLABS. The WPI also put out statements to patients saying the REDLABS tests were clinically validated. As licensor the liability also falls to them.

  6. Now all can see and it is known the level of sacrifice she is willing to endure fighting for this community and the research. Never sacrificing ethics, integrity, or ever backing down to the bullys who try to take everything from her. But they cannot take her magnificent brain. Nor will they ever take the compassion and caring she feels for wanting to help this patient community. I hope they rot!

  7. Having faced great injustice at the hands of some vicious people I know what this does to a person’s health, both psychologically and physically. My heart is breaking on so many levels. Until people come into contact with out “justice system” they don’t know there is no justice unless you are the one who has the money to buy it. Power will dictate the outcome in court, the truth is not allowed and due process is a myth. It is shocking to the bone because we are all told our whole lives this country has the greatest justice system in the world. It does not. Public defenders don’t defend clients they threaten them into taking a plea, poor people don’t get trials. Prosecutors lie and withhold evidence, they charge clients with large numbers of false crimes so they can use the false charges as leverage to help force a plea. After my experience I began reading everything I could get my hands on about the courts. I found out my story was nothing compared to so many. After the history of CFS/ME research in this country I realize they don’t want the cause found, but why? What is it they don’t want the public to know? Thank you for providing us updates about Dr. Mikovits, I appreciate your blog very much.

  8. There was extra information in one Reno Gazette article.

    “Dennis Jones, lawyer for Judy Mikovits, also said the reason she was fired by the institute was because she “discovered a series of improper, unethical and possibly illegal acts” by the Whittemores and their lab director.”

    “Jones said Mikovits’ relationship with the Whittemores deteriorated after she allegedly discovered a list of potentially criminal acts. The institute had been using federal grant money to pay a lab director, Vincent Lombardi, even though he did not work at the institute full time, Jones said.

    Jones also said Mikovits raised concerns about the alleged misuse of cells allocated for nonprofit research “to harvest supplies for the institute’s for-profit clinic.” Mikovits claimed the institute covered up the alleged misappropriation for two years.

    Mikovits also confronted institute officials for allegedly selling blood tests through the institute’s clinic even after the tests had been invalidated, “thereby committing Medi-Care fraud,” Jones said.”

    http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Chronic_Fatigue_Syndrome/forum/14148241-latest-whittemoremikovitz

  9. Thank you, Dr. Jamie, for writing this. And thank you, John Herd, for your well-crafted but sad and tragic poem. Dr. Mikovits, our hearts go out to you and we thank you for all you have done for the patients and continue to do now. All we want is for you to stop being bothered by the WPI and get back to work. You are such a strong woman. May the future be brighter. — Rivka

  10. The judicial savagery orchestrated by the Whittmores has left a good brave honest innocent woman in tatters emotionally,financially and professionally.They talk the talk of Christianity and then behave like the devil himself. This is a crime against humanity by truly evil people

  11. From where I sit…..it seems to come down to money, connections and buying off whoever you have to. I see this in politics today, and from what I have read about the Whitmores is that they are very connected. Corruption, power and money. Pretty sad when it is at the expense of those of us who are innocent in all of this, sick and can’t even get out of bed at times. I makes me so mad, but, we must carry on and not let all the negativity rule. I see it that we must rally, get positive and move forward, and hopefully Dr. Judy can do that now.

  12. Men in Black protecting all the different Bioweapons of the cartel without end amen.

    Judy Mikovits a JFK of medicine threatening to expose evils.

    And I’ve gratefully seen this posted from the very beginning, on this site and everywhere.

    Even awful truth sets free , no matter the outcome, body or not.

    Ears to hear.

  13. Dr. Judy Mikovits Legal Fund – Important news

    The recent filing of bankruptcy by Dr. Mikovits has necessitated a change regarding the Mikovits Legal Fund. It has become necessary to stop accepting donations to the fund, per the advice of lawyers. Any questions you have may be directed to Lilly Meehan at LMeehan93003@aol.com , I am the one who set up the http://www.paypal.com account for Dr. Mikovits originally in November 2011. If you would like to verify my involvement in this matter you may do so directly with Dr. Judy or with Dr. Jamie Deckoff-Jones. Dr. Mikovits would like to thank everyone for their contributions and show of support, it has been a true blessing during difficult times.

    Warm regards,
    Lilly Meehan, LMeehan93003@aol.com
    7081 Wolverine Street, Ventura, CA. 93003 USA

    The address above may also be used for messages of support and well wishes.

  14. Great thanks to ALL above, who were able to express so much Love & Respect for Dr. Judy. My time on line is very limited, BUT……Dr. Judy, I am so so sorry u have been put thu ALL of the BS, that has been laid upon u. There is never a day that goes by, that u are not in my Prayers & Thoughts and Knowing, that “God & His Angels,are ALWAYS by u’r side, to Cover U’r Back ” !!
    W/ Huge Love, Peace & Grace, Dear One. xxx
    ( & u’r Mountain Top Cabin in NC, is Always~~ open for u ) & *** Thanks John, great writing and Oooo….so very true !!

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