Former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson revealed on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" who he believes got him kicked off Twitter for essentially asking too many questions about the efficacy and safety of the COVID vaccine – ex-FDA official-turned-Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb.
Berenson published a lengthy Substack piece laying out his chronology of events along with emails obtained through discovery in his lawsuit against Twitter that he said pointed to Gottlieb. In August 2021, Gottlieb sent an email to Twitter questioning Berenson's prose in a posting about National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci's "arrogance."
In the purported email, Gottlieb – who served as Donald Trump's FDA commissioner prior to the pandemic – warned "this is what's promoted on Twitter. This is why Tony needs a security detail."
Berenson noted Pfizer has made $70 billion selling often-mandated mRNA vaccines, and that Gottlieb is paid more than $300,000 per year to serve on its board. He also said none of his writings ever threatened or intended any harm be brought upon Fauci.
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"Thus… began the final act in a secret months-long conspiracy to suppress my basic American right to free speech," Berenson said.
On "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Berenson explained his timeline, claiming that former Biden White House senior coronavirus adviser Andrew Slavitt had been in communication with Twitter over his reservations about Berenson and the fact he was openly asking questions about the lucrative vaccine.
"I was discouraging people from getting the vaccines, which the White House wanted and [he was] asking them why they hadn't banned me," Berenson said.
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The onetime Times reporter said Slavitt was out of the White House by this time, but was still in contact with administration officials as well as millionaire Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, whose company was marketing the COVID vaccine.
Berenson said that by July 2021, the Biden administration was already pushing booster vaccines and pressing for private and public sector mandates.
"And then Scott Gottlieb, who is a director of Pfizer on the executive committee of Pfizer… went to Twitter and said, this guy is a problem, and then they banned me," Berenson told host Tucker Carlson.
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Carlson responded by distilling Berenson's claim into a single thought.
"So you criticized his product in which he had a financial interest, and he got you censored," he said, openly inviting Gottlieb to appear and respond on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
Berenson pledged to do everything he can to "ensure the sun rises on this conspiracy."
"[N]ot just for me, or everyone whose rights to speak and debate came under attack, but for the untold millions of Americans who desperately wanted to avoid taking mRNA vaccines in the fall of 2021 and were forced to do so at risk of their jobs and educations," he said.
"The insane government coercion of 2021 is, thankfully, behind us. But the battle over what happened last year has only begun."
