Sen. Paul says Fauci’ Lied to Congress,’ to Make Criminal Referral to DOJ
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced plans to refer Dr. Anthony Fauci to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal investigation because he claims the president’s chief medical advisor lied to Congress.
- Paul to file a criminal complaint against Dr. Fauci for allegedly lying to Congress
In an interview on Tuesday night with Fox host Sean Hannity, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) announced that he plans to make a criminal referral of Dr. Anthony Fauci to the Justice Department because he believes, based on evidence, the doctor lied to Congress.
Fauci is director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the chief medical advisor to the president, the Daily Wire reported.
“I will be sending a letter to Department of Justice asking for a criminal referral because he has lied to Congress,” Paul told Hannity. “We have scientists that were lined up by the dozens to say that the research he was funding was gain-of-function.”
“He’s doing this because he has a self interest to cover his tracks and to cover his connection to Wuhan lab,” Paul continued.
Paul grills Fauci at hearing
At Tuesday’s hearing, the Kentucky Republican grilled the NIAID director.
“Dr. Fauci, knowing that it is a crime to lie to Congress, do you wish to retract your statement of May 11, where you claimed that the NIH never funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan?” Paul asked Fauci. The senator cited a paper quoting Dr. Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, saying that the “research matches, indeed epitomizes the definition of gain-of-function research.”
The controversy surrounding gain-of-function
The funding gain of function is related to a six-figure grant that NIH provided to EcoHealth Alliance. In turn, EcoHealth Alliance directed money to a project at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Daily Wire reported.
According to FactCheck.org, whether or not NIH funding was directed to the Wuhan lab and used to further gain-of-function research “depends on whom you ask and their definition of gain-of-function.”
FOX REPORTED THAT the NIH and NIAID have acknowledged supporting grants to research viruses in bats but claim to have never funded gain-of-function research of those or transmissibility for humans.
What is gain-of-function?
Research “gain-of-function” and the definition will vary according to the organization defining it.
According to the definition by the National Institutes of Health (NIH): “Gain-of-function (GOF) research involves experimentation that aims or is expected to (and/or, perhaps, actually does) increase the transmissibility and/or virulence of pathogens.”
A columnist at The Washington Post, Josh Rogin, tweeted: “Hey guys, @RandPaul was right, and Fauci was wrong. The NIH was funding gain of function research in Wuhan, but NIH pretended it didn’t meet their ‘gain of function’ definition to avoid their oversight mechanism. SorryNotSorry if that doesn’t fit your favorite narrative.”
