Merck is represented by #BigLaw firm #JonesDay, who made their bones by representing the #RJReynolds from smokers with lung-cancer, arguing that the smoking/cancer link wasn't scientifically sound. That's not the only fanciful argument they put before a judge: Jones Day also represented #Trump in his attempts to overturn the 2020 election (they also hired Trump's counsel #DonMcGahn as he exited the White House's revolving door).

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“My concern with tobacco goes back to 1971, when I stood over my mother at Metropolitan Hospital and she took her last breath at 43 years of age. She could never stop smoking. Black lives matter, but Black lungs do, too.” #RJReynolds #Cigarettes #Smoking https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/08/25/detroit-pastor-says-he-offered-250-k-oppose-menthol-cigarette-ban/7866711001/
Detroit pastor says he was offered $250,000 to oppose menthol cigarette ban

The Rev. Horace Sheffield said he was told the money was coming from RJ Reynolds, the tobacco giant behind the popular Newport menthol brand.

Detroit Free Press