Pfizer has asked a U.S. court to throw out a whistleblower’s lawsuit on the basis that the company can’t be guilty of fraud, abuse, and protocol violations in its COVID Vaccine clinical trials because its contract with the U.S. government allowed them to skirt regulations and federal laws that typically apply to government contracts.

In other words, Pfizer was allegedly able to make false statements to the government, and lie about the safety and efficacy of its product, “because the government was in on it with them!” according to Robert Barnes, the lead lawyer in the case.