What the chairperson is saying between the lines, in effect, is that everyone involved was so deeply up to their tush in conflicts that it was difficult to find a place to stand to make any determinations.

The tell is the ludicrous attempt to maintain that some members on the panel who are on the take from pharma didn't vote, so it's OK.  If they were on the panel, they had influence in the panel's deliberations.

McMickey University.