Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in an interview Monday that Dr. Anthony Fauci will not go down in history for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the former presidential medical adviser is under suspicion. He said he should be jailed. She had lied to Congress in a previous hearing.
“His actions to cover up the origins of the virus will probably go down in history as one of the most egregious and infamous public health decisions of our lifetime,” Paul told FOX News Digital in an interview Monday. Ta.
“While Mr. Fauci has publicly protested every step of the way, saying, 'We never funded the Wuhan gain function research,' a look at his private emails tells us otherwise.” '' Paul said.
Gain-of-function research involves manipulating the genes of microorganisms to give them new functions or properties. In the context of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), gain-of-function research has shown that the virus may have originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and may have involved experiments that increased its transmissibility or pathogenicity. It turned out that it was.
Dr. Anthony Fauci (left) and Senator Rand Paul (GREG NASH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images | Photographer: Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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In previous testimony to Congress, Fauci refuted claims that the National Institutes of Health was funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab. The Wuhan laboratory was the epicenter of the pandemic that began in late 2019 and quickly escalated to pandemic proportions in 2020.
Fauci testified privately for a second time last week before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which is investigating the origins of the virus.
The committee's chairman, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), criticized Fauci's inability to recall decisions and circumstances early on in the outbreak that has killed 1.1 million Americans. He said in a statement that he was upset.
“Lying to Congress is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. When he came and told me he couldn't find any gain-of-function research and would move on, it was a flat-out lie. .I gave him a chance to confess and correct the record when he came back to the committee a month later, but he refused,” Paul said.
“And to this day, he has tried to deny himself and shift responsibility away from himself, which is a serious crime,” he said.
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Shanna Alesi administers the second COVID-19 booster shot to Veteran Robert Hall at Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital on April 1, 2022 in Hines, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Fauci also testified that the lab leak hypothesis (which has often been suppressed) is not a conspiracy theory, and that the policies and mandates he promoted were not conspiracy theories. Vaccine hesitancy may increase Looking to the future, Wenstrup said in a statement Wednesday:
Wenstrup said that while Fauci acknowledged the possibility of a lab leak, he treated the definition of a “lab leak” semantically.
Wenstrup said the confession came nearly four years after the publication of the “proximal origins” paper, which sought to denigrate and disprove the lab leak hypothesis.
Fauci also denied allegations that he visited the CIA during the pandemic or influenced the agency's investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.
“The transcript of Dr. Fauci's interview reveals systemic flaws in our nation's public health system and raises serious procedural concerns with our nation's public health officials,” said Wenstrup, a physician for more than 30 years. It has been made clear,” he wrote.
“It is clear that dissenting voices were often not considered or completely suppressed. In the event of a future pandemic, the U.S. response must be based on scientific facts and conclusive data.”
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Members of the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus infection arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. (Reuters/Thomas Peter)
Paul, who is also an ophthalmologist, said Fauci's reason for being “obsessed” about his response to the pandemic is that he is “aiming to pass legislation that would regulate gain-of-function research and create an independent commission to try to prevent it. from,” he said. More dangerous research is being conducted than ever before. ”
“There was no science” about COVID-19 guidelines such as social distancing and isolation, Paul said. “This was a kind of medieval conclusion, and history will judge him harshly for such an act.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Fauci for comment.
FOX News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
