US Attorney John Brownlee Argued The OxyContin Case Against Rudy Giuliani
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Netflix's newest hit series, Painkiller, has been at the top of the streamer's chart since last week, and it has a lot of people asking big questions about the ongoing opioid epidemic in America.
The dramatic series details the introduction of OxyContin into the mainstream medical market thanks to the drug's creator, pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma. The drug has been widely blamed for the ongoing opioid addiction crisis across the US, and D.E.A. officials described Purdue Pharma's actions as "perhaps the most aggressive promotional campaign for a high-powered narcotic ever undertaken," per The New York Times.
Starting in 1996, the company peddled the drug as an effective painkiller for moderate to severe pain, despite knowing how highly addictive it was. Across six episodes, viewers meet members of the Sackler family, who founded and ran Purdue Pharma, as well as the employees who helped get OxyContin out on the market. The series also tells the stories of fictionalized people affected by substance use disorder as a result.
While Purdue Pharma and its top execs made lots of money from OxyContin, a group of lawyers launched an investigation in the early 2000s, alleging that OxyContin was being misbranded—and as a result, destroying lives across the country.
One of the lawyers featured in the series is US Attorney John Brownlee. But is he a real person? Here’s a breakdown:
Is Painkiller based on a true story?
At its core, yes. Painkiller is based on real events and a real pharmaceutical company that peddled a highly addictive painkiller across the US. However, Netflix explains that the series is a “fictionalized retelling” of true events, and the victims portrayed are based on thousands of people, rather than a singular individual.
However, the legal battle on screen was very real.
The series is actually based off of two main sources—a 2003 book, Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic, by Barry Meier, which was updated in 2018, and a 2017 New Yorker profile on the Sackler family called, “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain." That article was later expanded into the 2021 book, Empire of Pain.
Is John Brownlee based on a real person?
Yes, the character of John Brownlee is based on a real person. The real Brownlee is currently a lawyer with Holland & Knight in the Washington, D.C., area, according to his online bio.
Brownlee served more than 10 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, both as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
He has “extensive experience in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation, white collar defense, securities enforcement, and internal and Congressional investigations, having represented many companies and individuals in criminal and civil litigation, as well as in administrative matters before various federal and state agencies,” his bio reads.
Brownlee's character is played by actor Tyler Ritter in the series.
What was John Brownlee's role in the Purdue Pharma case?
Brownlee was the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2001 to 2008, when the events in Painkiller take place. He led the investigation into Purdue Pharma's harmful OxyContin sales tactics that culminated in the company's guilty plea in 2007.
“Mr. Brownlee and federal prosecutors from his office convicted an American pharmaceutical company, the manufacturer and distributor of the highly addictive opioid, OxyContin, for misbranding the drug,” his bio reads.
Purdue Pharma execs eventually entered a plea deal over “misbranding,” which is a broad statute that makes it a crime to mislabel a drug, fraudulently promote it, or market it for an unapproved use, per The New York Times.
The company agreed to pay around $600 million in "fines and other payments," and three company execs pled guilty to a criminal violation of misbranding, agreeing to pay $34.5 million in fines, the outlet reported.
However, Purdue was still able to sell OxyContin after this legal battle. As part of the plea deal, Purdue Pharma's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, made sure Purdue could still do business with the federal government, The Guardian reported. (A block on federal business would have taken away a huge market for the drug.) Giuliani also won another concession in the plea deal that "immunized Purdue from further prosecution" up to 2007.
Where is he now?
Brownlee is still practicing law in the Washington, D.C., area, where he’s a partner at his law firm. He’s won a slew of awards during his tenure, including a spot in The Best Lawyers in America guide, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, from 2013 through 2023.
For more details on Brownlee's role in Purdue Pharma's legal battles, you can check out Painkiller, which is streaming now on Netflix.
If you or someone you know is seeking help for substance use, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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