Republican Senator Rand Paul grilled Dr. Anthony Fauci during a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday about the National Institute of Health's funding of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic likely started. More specifically, Paul asked Fauci about funding for "gain-of-function" research at the lab.
Fauci repeatedly denied funding the dangerous and unnecessary research, but the NIH grant process tells a different story.
Dr Fauci dissembled or tried to hide his long time support for ‘gain-of-function’ research which creates super-viruses that jump from animals to humans.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 11, 2021
11 labs in the US create these super-viruses in the US and one of them collaborated with Wuhan Virology Inst —Fauci has supported NIH funds for all these labs!
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 11, 2021
In fact, Fauci is known as "The Godfather" of gain-of-function research.
"I often talk to scientists who say the same thing, that say, ‘Listen, we really want to speak out about this, but we can’t do it. Why can’t we do it? Well, we get all of our funding from NIH, or NIAID… which is run by Dr. Fauci,'" he said on Kelly’s podcast. "And so we can’t say anything like ‘Oh, gain-of-function research might be dangerous, or it might have come from a lab, because we’re going to lose our careers, we’re going to lose our funding, we’re not going to be able to do the work.'"
"The head of the funding, the head of the entire field, really, is Anthony Fauci," he said. "He’s the godfather of gain-of-function research as we know it. That, again, just what I said right there, is too hot for TV because people don’t want to think about the fact that our hero of the pandemic… might also have been connected to this research, which might also have been connected to the outbreak."
"People don't want to think about the fact that our hero of the pandemic Dr. Fauci might also have been connected to this research which might also have been connected to the outbreak..."@JoshRogin on what we know so far. Listen, and download here: https://t.co/F96HgIpiAu pic.twitter.com/6EN4KuoWkY
— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) April 14, 2021
Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, Paul has routinely challenged Fauci's guidance and assertions.
Fauci always gets visibly angry when Dr. Paul asks him routine questions about his taxpayer-funded govt job.
— Jordan Schachtel (@JordanSchachtel) May 11, 2021
He refuses to justify *any* criticism or questioning of his work. He's been running the NIAID like it's his personal kingdom for 37 yrs, & there is no room for dissent!
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