Politics
Dr Fauci Grilled Over Gain-of-Function Research
Dr Fauci received severe examination from House Republicans at a hearing on Monday, as legislators continue to question his reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic and hypotheses about the virus’s origin.
Dr Fauci has already stated that he has “nothing to hide” and is appearing before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic freely. It’s his first public testimony since leaving the federal government at the end of 2022, following five decades of service.
Fauci’s speech on Capitol Hill comes during a tense election cycle, with Republicans continuing to attack him on his approach to the illness, including mask laws, vaccine protocols, and origin theories.
“Americans were aggressively bullied, shamed, and silenced for merely questioning or debating issues such as social distancing, masks, vaccines, or the origins of COVID,” chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, stated as the hearing began. In this session, Wenstrup accused Fauci of directing “one of the most invasive regimes of domestic policy the U.S. has ever seen.”
Dr Fauci vehemently refuted GOP allegations that he interfered with pandemic research, including assertions that he tried to persuade experts not to conclude the virus originated in a lab.
“The accusation being circulated that I influenced the scientists to change their minds by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money is absolutely false, and simply preposterous,” he stated.
“The second issue is a bogus charge that I attempted to conceal the likelihood that the virus came from a laboratory. In reality, the truth is exactly the reverse,” he said, before reading an email in which he encouraged scientists to report their findings to authorities.
Democrats, led by ranking member Raul Ruiz, attempted to focus on moving forward, accusing Republicans of using Fauci as a scapegoat for former President Donald Trump’s failures during the pandemic’s early stages.
“After 15 months, the select subcommittee does not possess a shred of evidence to substantiate these extreme allegations Republicans have levied against Dr Fauci for nearly four years,” Ruiz stated.
Tensions erupted when Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Fauci’s most vocal critics, suggested his license should be withdrawn and he should be imprisoned. Chair Rep. Wenstrup, a fellow Republican, interrupted her due to a lack of etiquette. Democrats supported Fauci in the aftermath, with Rep. Robert Garcia describing Greene’s remarks as “completely irresponsible.”
Republicans on the subcommittee have launched their latest attack on Fauci, citing “new evidence” that they believe warrants further investigation: an email exchange between a former Fauci senior adviser and an executive of a virus research organization in which the adviser claims Fauci’s private Gmail account could be used to evade the Freedom of Information Act and future public scrutiny. Prior to the meeting, Republicans wanted access to Fauci’s personal email account and cellphone information.
Dr Fauci denied using his private email
“Let me state for the record that to the best of my knowledge I have never conducted official business via my personal email,” Fauci stated.
Dr. David Morens, Fauci’s adviser, informed EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak that Fauci would take printed copies of documents if Daszak did not want them tracked for the public record — however it is unclear whether Fauci actually had any participation.
According to records, Morens used his private Gmail account to shield information from FOIA’s reach, including sending Daszak official government documents and informing him about information that would become public as a result of a FOIA request for EcoHealth Alliance grant materials and COVID-19 research.
According to its website, the EcoHealth Alliance is a “virus-hunting group” established in the United States that conducts research and outreach projects in global health, conservation, and international development.
Republicans claim the alliance supported gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without sufficient oversight, intentionally violated various terms of its multi-million dollar National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, and allegedly made fraudulent claims to the NIH.
The House select subcommittee issued a report claiming malfeasance and recommending EcoHealth and Daszak’s official removal. Health and Human Services has since discontinued U.S. funding for the organization, which totaled approximately $2.6 million last year.
Death Threats
Morens went behind closed doors for transcribed interviews before the subcommittee on January 18, and later supplied an additional 30,000 pages of records under subpoena before testifying publicly on May 22.
Given Morens’ close relationship with Fauci, Republicans on the subcommittee voiced worry that Fauci was aware of his actions and questioned whether Fauci himself had engaged in any misbehavior.
Fauci told legislators on Monday that he “knew nothing” about Morens’ involvement with Daszak or EcoHealth, and that Morens was not “an adviser to me on institute policy or other substantive issues.”
Fauci, 83, was the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, acting as a scientific check on Trump during the pandemic and then as President Joe Biden’s primary medical adviser until retiring in 2022.
He previously spoke up about the death threats he received as a result of his prominent and public participation during the COVID-19 pandemic’s early stages. On Monday, he said the threats continue and became tearful when asked about the impact on his family.
In his opening remarks, Fauci addressed those concerns and Republican criticisms, describing certain items as “seriously distorted.”
Source: ABC News
