The Judicial Branch Scores Big

Is it possible the Judicial branch of American government is the last holdout against corruption and lobbyist efforts? After the last 8 year run of Presidential favors and corporate sole-source contracts, and the continued exposures of Congressional members having relationships with lobbyists or corporate execs (or retiring from the Senate to found lobby firms), one has to admit the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch seem...ethically gray. Our new President swore no lobbyists would get Federal positions...and then gave lobbyists positions.

But today it was announced that the judicial branch, namely the Justice Department has settled with Pfizer, the world's largest drugmaker, to the tune of 2.3 billion. Pfizer plead guilty or no contest to several charges, including taking doctors on exotic trips in exchange for the doctors prescribing Pfizer drugs, promoting drugs as having benefits not approved by the FDA, and writing fake requests for information to doctors in order to solicit drugs for unapproved uses and doses.

Part of the beauty in this is that Pfizer was unable to get favors from anyone to quash the lawsuit. In history, it seems that part of the price you pay to become the "world's largest (insert product here) maker" is that you have to do a lot of shady and unethical things in order to beat your competition. I am glad to see Justice done.


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