Chapter Six
Sarah ceremoniously hits the Enter key to officially file her first column about the trial. She gathers her notes and a half-eaten energy bar and stuffs them back in her briefcase, grabs her suit jacket, and starts walking through the newsroom toward the elevators. As she passes the open door to the Research Room, she hears the TV monitors and stops to listen for a minute.
“Nine P.M. Eastern time…This is GNN, your Global News Network. Our top story tonight is, of course, the first day of the three trillion dollar AIDS trial in Phoenix, Arizona. This is a class action lawsuit on behalf of 300,000 Americans, mostly men, who died from AIDS during the years 1987 to 1997. And this trial started off with two major surprises. Rick Mann is at the Federal courthouse in Phoenix. Rick, what happened today?”
Sarah forgets about the elevator that arrived and slips into the Research Room to watch the GNN report.
On the TV screen, Rick Mann is standing with the huge glass courthouse some distance behind him in the background. This is so the camera can show the crowds of demonstrators that are still there with their signs, chanting slogans and hurling insults.
“Laura, today both sides gave their opening statements to the jury. Benjamin Messick, attorney for the plaintiffs, took almost three hours to tell the jury he would prove that Dr. Robert Gallo, who worked for the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services wrongfully declared the virus called HIV as the cause of AIDS at a press conference in 1984. Further, Mr. Messick contends that the FDA improperly approved the drug AZT for the treatment of AIDS, and that the drug company called Burroughs Wellcome, now called GlaxoSmithKline, produced and distributed AZT to some 300,000 people who shouldn't have taken it. But the first surprise, according to Mr. Messick, is his contention that it was the AZT that actually caused AIDS in these victims, who later died, and says he will prove that they developed AIDS only because they took the AZT and not from the HIV.”
Laura Begley is back on the screen in GNN headquarters in Atlanta. “And what was the reaction from the defendants?”
These back-and-forth questions were obviously pre-arranged just to break up what might be a monotonous monologue, and it’s clear Laura is reading from a script on the teleprompter. Rick continues without skipping a beat.
“Well, this was the other big surprise. The head of the defense team, Thomas Crawley, took less than 15 minutes to tell the jury he wasn't going to defend his clients. In this bold and daring move, Crawley said, and I quote…” Mann reads from his notes, “…‘we will not dignify this travesty, this witch hunt, this preposterous case by putting on a defense,’” then looks back at the camera. “He also said that the plaintiffs did not have, quote, even the slightest shred of proof, unquote, and called the entire case ludicrous tripe, frivolous, and a waste of time. This seemed to catch not only the court, but also the plaintiffs' attorney off guard. Here was Mr. Messick's reaction...”
Rick’s face on the screen is replaced by videotape showing a crowd of reporters trying to get Messick to answer questions as he leaves the courthouse that afternoon. Without stopping he simply yells out to all the reporters present, “Mr. Crawley might change his mind when I'm finished…we'll see.”
The video ends and Rick Mann picks up where he left off.
“Laura, the defense is counting on the plaintiffs being unable to prove their case, and therefore there would be no need for them to say anything when Mr. Messick is finished. Mr. Messick obviously thinks things will be different. Back to you, Laura.”
Rick disappears from the TV, replaced by Laura in Atlanta. This time, she is not alone.
“Thanks, Rick. With us in the studio tonight is our chief health correspondent, Dr. Frank Keating, who will be joining us often as this trial progresses. Dr. Keating, what do you make of all of this?”
Dr. Frank Keating is a typical GNN consultant, available on call for interviews precisely like this one. He looks good on TV and speaks clearly, with intelligence and authority, which is why GNN calls on him so often.
“Well, Laura, the argument that the plaintiffs' attorney, Mr. Messick, is making, that the virus called HIV does not cause AIDS, is not a new argument at all. Way back in the early 1980’s when all this started, the world's leading retrovirologist, Dr. Peter Duesberg, disagreed strongly with Dr. Gallo and eventually wrote a book called Inventing the AIDS Virus."
Keating holds up a copy of Dr. Duesberg’s book, and Laura is obviously thrown off script.
“Stop, please, Dr. Keating. You're going to have to make all this much simpler for us. You said Dr. Duesberg was the world's leading what?”
“Retrovirologist.”
Laura seems completely lost already.
“And that is?”
Keating realizes he has probably not only lost Laura, but most of the GNN viewers as well. He decides to slow down and go back to the basics.
“We keep calling HIV a virus, the ‘AIDS virus,’ and it technically is a virus, but a very special kind called a retrovirus. We don't know very much about retroviruses at all, where they come from, how they behave, what their role is in the human body. They are definitely different from the normal viruses we think of that cause diseases like colds or even polio. HIV is a retrovirus, and for years Dr. Duesberg was considered the expert on retroviruses, until Dr. Gallo announced that a retrovirus caused AIDS in 1984.”
Laura is almost back up to speed. “And Dr. Duesberg disagreed with Dr. Gallo?”
“That's an understatement. Dr. Duesberg fought bitterly with Dr. Gallo for many years, but the press hardly reported it. Virtually no one had heard of Dr. Duesberg, and all the American people knew was that the nation's leading cancer research scientist, Dr. Robert Gallo, said that HIV caused AIDS, and that was the end of that story.”
“Whatever happened to Dr. Duesberg?”
Keating frowned. “He was discredited as a scientist, lost all his research grants, was barred from any media appearances to give his side of the story, and basically disappeared back into his laboratory at the University of California in Berkeley.”
Now Laura’s curiosity is peaked, which is what makes her such a good reporter. “Is he still alive?”
“Yes, and I expect that we'll see him as a key witness for the plaintiffs as this trial progresses.”
“Dr. Keating, thank you. Looks like we're in for some interesting times in the coming weeks. And now for other news...an early winter storm has hit Idaho and Montana, causing power outages and severe driving conditions...”
Sarah turns to leave the Research Room and immediately bumps into Sam who is standing there close behind her. She jumps back, startled.
“Please come to my office, Sarah.”
“Sam, I’ve got to get home to fix dinner for the family.”
This time Sam’s look is as intense as his voice. “Sarah, I need you to come to my office for a minute.”
Sarah quickly figures out this is not really an invitation, but an order. As Sam sits down behind his desk, Sarah closes the door, just in case something really bad is coming.
“Sarah, I was just reading your column on the trial.” He clearly is not sure how to approach the subject. With any other reporter, Sam would be direct and forceful and commanding. With Sarah, it’s different, and he’s not sure exactly why. After all, he is her boss, and he should be able to act, well, bossy. He musters up as much directness as he can. “I can't let this go to press, Sarah.”
Sarah looks genuinely surprised. “Why not?”
Sam hesitates again. “I realize that you write a health column, and you’re not used to reporting on a case like this one. But you are a trained journalist, and if you're going to cover this trial, we need you to give us a more objective account of what's happening, even from the health perspective.”
“What do you mean, Sam?”
Sam picks up some papers from his desk, obviously Sarah’s column that she submitted a few minutes ago. He scans it quickly, searching for certain lin
es.
" ‘The plaintiff's attorney, using some of the same lame arguments disproved two decades ago’.... ‘At least the defense attorney respected the value of our time,’.... ‘The courtroom looked like the playing field for David and Goliath – Mr. Messick against the best minds in the business. Only this time David doesn't stand a chance....’ Come on, Sarah, you haven't written anything as one-sided as that since you were my student in high school.”
Sarah finally sits down in the chair across from Sam. Her face is flushed, her voice has a hint of sarcasm, and she’s on the attack rather than the defense. “Sam, this trial is a joke. If HIV didn't cause AIDS, the ‘best minds in the business’ would have found that out long ago. We wouldn't have had to wait twenty-five years for some camera-happy, publicity-seeking attorney like Benjamin Messick to clue us in….”
Sam cuts her off before Sarah says something he won’t be able to overlook. “Sarah…stop. I’ve been watching the TV, too. Messick doesn't appear ‘camera-happy’ to me. What have you got against Benjamin Messick? Look, Sarah, I'm going to say it again...I really think you shouldn't be covering this trial, for your own sake.”
Sarah is not used to being reprimanded. She also will not tolerate threats. She jumps up out of the chair quickly and angrily blurts out, “Don't ever bring that up again, Sam.”
Sam is a little surprised by her forceful reaction. “Well, then either we don't run anything from you in tomorrow's paper, or you go fix this right now and make it right.” He holds out the papers to Sarah across the desk.
Sarah hesitates for a moment. Then she grabs the papers, storms out of Sam’s office back to her cubicle, peels off her coat, throws her briefcase down and picks up the phone to tell the family she’ll be late.
Wrongful Death: The AIDS Trial Page 6