Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky raised numerous concerns about Dr. Anthony Fauci’s part in a “cover-up” of the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday. Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is to appear before the House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in January.
Fauci is also facing questions about a controversial form of research known as “gain of function.” This practice involves funding high-risk research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the virus is believed to have originated. Paul told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, “It took us about three years to finally say that we’re not going to send any more money to their Wuhan lab, but that’s after me badgering them for years and years.”
Paul has also demanded an investigation into Fauci’s role in the way U.S. officials responded to early information about the virus. He raised questions about why the U.S. government continued to deny that the virus was being transmitted between humans in January 2020—even as the situation in Wuhan had ramped up. “Even in January of 2020, when the – the epidemic or pandemic is rip-roaring throughout Wuhan, they’re still telling our scientists, doesn’t look like it’s transmitted from human to human,” Paul said.
Paul believes that Fauci was the “top of the food chain” in the cover-up and has called for an investigation into Fauci’s involvement. “When Wenstrup’s committee brings Anthony Fauci forward for testimony, for a deposition, they need to get to the bottom of, was he the top of the chain? Was he the top of the food chain with the cover-up, or was there someone else?” Paul said.
Paul has clashed with Fauci on multiple occasions throughout the pandemic and has repeatedly accused him of lacking the guts to accept responsibility for the U.S. government’s “terrible judgment.” He has also accused Fauci of avoiding accountability and lying about his involvement under oath. Paul believes the committee should “have the data to probe into exact truthful or untruthful answers by looking back, and have [Fauci] look at data to impeach him.” He concluded,” We do need to get to the bottom of this because this could happen again.”