Dr. Anthony Fauci, the retired scientist and longtime face of the government’s infectious disease response, will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Wednesday. This appearance marks the latest showdown with Sen. Rand Paul, the committee’s chairman, who has long sought to blame the Covid pandemic and shortcomings of the US response on Fauci.
Background
Fauci did not agree to testify willingly. In June, Paul subpoenaed the 85-year-old former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for his appearance. Internal correspondence shared with CNN shows that Fauci initially declined to appear voluntarily, citing his past clashes with Paul and the senator’s efforts to indict him.
The committee released more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s personal diary from 2019 to 2022. The entries documented his frequent media appearances and growing fame, shining a light on his interactions with celebrities and dozens of members of the news media.
The diary entries also narrate Fauci’s growing concerns about Covid-19, frustrations with the government response, and conflicting relationships with both Trump and Biden administration officials. Paul’s intense focus on discrediting Fauci has taken a toll on him, according to people familiar with the scientist.
Expected Clash
Paul and Fauci have clashed repeatedly over the years about the origins of Covid-19, Fauci’s guidance on shutdowns, and allegations that Fauci instructed NIAID staff on corresponding through private channels to avoid public records gained through Freedom of Information Act requests. Since the early days of the pandemic, the senator has accused Fauci of greenlighting controversial research to make viruses more contagious and virulent, known as gain-of-function research.
Fauci has repeatedly denied this, both before the senator and in his diary entries. An analysis of viruses used in the Wuhan lab ‘clearly indicate(s) that it is molecularly impossible for the viruses under the auspices of the NIH grant to have been manipulated into or evolved into SARS-Cov-2,’ he wrote in July 2021.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
