Committee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Oh) issued a statement after the interview with the ex-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director. "After two days of testimony and 14 hours of questioning, many things became evident. During his interview today, Dr. Fauci testified that the lab leak hypothesis – which was often suppressed – was, in fact, not a conspiracy theory," Westrup said.
?DR. FAUCI TESTIMONY TAKEAWAYS?@COVIDSelect has completed a two-day, 14-hour transcribed interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Here are the most important highlights from DAY 2 of his testimony?
— Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (@COVIDSelect) January 10, 2024
The said admission came nearly four years after prompting the publication of the now infamous "Proximal Origin" that attempted to vilify and disprove the lab leak hypothesis. According to Westrup's release, Fauci played semantics with the definition of a "lab leak" in an attempt to cover up the inaccurate conclusions of the said paper. (Related: Fauci conspired with virologists to TRICK world in Wuhan COVER-UP.)
Furthermore, the "six-feet-apart" social distancing recommendation promoted by federal health officials "sort of just appeared" and was likely not based on scientific data, as per the transcribed dialogue with the retired government official.
The 83-year-old Fauci also admitted that America's vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic could increase vaccine hesitancy in the future. Previously, he advocated "that when you make it difficult for people in their lives, they lose their ideological bullshit, and they get vaccinated." Some other highlights in the interview included Fauci denying allegations that he visited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the pandemic or influenced the CIA's investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Also, when American universities approached him, he advised them to impose vaccine mandates on their students.
"Dr. Fauci's transcribed interview revealed systemic failures in our public health system and shed light on serious procedural concerns with our public health authority," Westrup concluded. "It is clear that dissenting opinions were often not considered or suppressed completely. Should a future pandemic arise, America's response must be guided by scientific facts and conclusive data." The congressman added the committee was frustrated with Fauci's inability to recall COVID-19 information that is important for the investigation. Nevertheless, he appreciates Fauci's willingness to testify privately and stated that he looks forward to speaking with him further at a public hearing this year.
Fauci became a politically polarizing figure during the pandemic. He was vilified by those opposed to lockdowns, masking rules and vaccine mandates while being idolized by those who agreed with the government's actions. Sen. Rand Paul, who has publicly lambasted the former NIAID director, said in an appearance on "The Ingraham Angle" that Fauci has always lied to the public. "The one thing that's consistent about Anthony Fauci is that what he says in private is largely true, what he says in public is largely a lie," he said.
Fauci gives "gain of function" a different definition
Fauci, together with former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, have both denied in testimony to Congress that the agency funded a risky gain-of-function research at a lab in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began in late 2019. But in June 2023, the Government Accountability Office issued a report revealing that NIH contributed more than $1.4 million to Chinese research institutions between 2014 and 2019 despite serious biosafety concerns, including at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. As per the report, the study "included genetic experiments to combine naturally occurring bat coronaviruses with SARS and MERS viruses, resulting in hybridized [also known as chimeric] coronavirus strains" and its funding has since been cut off.
On Monday, Wenstrup said that Fauci had given a "new definition" of "operational" gain-of-function research, a phrase that often describes experiments that make viruses more contagious and virulent. "I don't know that every scientist that deals with this type of viral research understands his definition," he said of Fauci. "He needs to define his definition of gain-of-function research, because, as I have, through this process in the last three years, read many, many published articles about gain-of-function research or creation of a chimera, this is a new one. And it varies from what a lot of other scientists use when they report on gain-of-function research."
"I think it is probably pretty political that we're here to begin with," Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mi) told reporters outside the hearing room referring to Fauci's previous reference to his "operational" definition in this clashes with Paul. She said, though that the closed-door format would yield "a lot of answers." "This format is not playing the cameras, it's helping us to get the facts and the details," Dingell added.
It was also reported that Fauci will be questioned about having accepted royalties and failing to disclose potential conflicts of interest during his nearly four-decade tenure as a public health official. He claimed to have donated all royalties but he was at one point the highest-paid U.S. government official, with a net worth of $11.5 million when he left government service in December 2022.
Check out FauciTruth.com to read more stories about the retired White House health executive.
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