How the Pharmaceutical Industry Captured Federal Health Agencies: Leslie Manookian

American Thought Leaders

"When 2020 unfolded, I could see where this was headed. I actually said to my husband in early January, 'Okay, we're here. They're finally going to really go for it. They're going to use this as an opportunity to coerce and force vaccinations.'"

Over two decades ago, Leslie Manookian was in London working in finance, when she unintentionally caught a glimpse of the dark side of the pharmaceutical industry.

"He sat down and, sitting across the table from me, he says 'Listen, in very, very rare instances, people have died from the drug.' And he said, 'The bad news is, the FDA is going to make us put a black-box warning on our packaging. The good news is: We still think we can do $7 billion in peak sales,'" says Ms. Manookian. "And I just thought, 'Oh my gosh. This is the reality of what I'm doing, and I'm playing for the wrong team.'"

Today, she is founder and president of the Health Freedom Defense Fund. She has filed numerous lawsuits against the government to ensure bodily autonomy for all Americans, including the landmark 2022 case in which a federal judge struck down a nationwide mask mandate for travel.

"The administrative state is all of these federal agencies that are headed by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. And the whole administrative state sits underneath the executive branch of government. It was never envisioned by our founders," says Ms. Manookian."