White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that it was not “advantageous” for her to relitigate 17-month-old emails written by Dr. Anthony Fauci during the coronavirus pandemic.
The press secretary was responding to a question from a reporter during Thursday’s press briefing, which focused on newly-released emails from Fauci exchanged in early 2020.
The reporter asked about one particular email exchange between National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins and Fauci that at the time dismissed the lab-leak theory as a “conspiracy.” The reporter also asked whether the administration believed that COVID-19 was an engineered bio-weapon.
.@PressSec is asked about Dr. Fauci’s emails:
“He’s been an undeniable asset in our country’s pandemic response but it’s obviously not that advantageous for me to re-litigate the substance of emails from 17 months ago.” pic.twitter.com/XGOe2s1qgs
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 3, 2021
“We’ve spoken to this pretty extensively from here,” Psaki said. “Let me just say on Dr. Fauci … he’s spoken to this many, many times … and will let him speak for himself.”
Psaki then quickly praised Fauci for being an “undeniable asset” in the response to the pandemic and said that relitigating the substance of old emails was “not advantageous.” (RELATED: White House Press Corps Has Zero Questions About Dr. Fauci Emails)
A second reporter asked about certain contradictions within the emails in regard to masking and post-infection immunity, and whether the administration still has confidence in Fauci.
“The president and the administration feel that Dr. Fauci has played an incredible role in getting the pandemic under control [and] being a voice to the public throughout the course of this pandemic,” Psaki replied.
.@PressSec says the administration still has full confidence in Dr. Fauci:
“The president and the administration feel that Dr. Fauci has played an incredible in getting the pandemic under control.” pic.twitter.com/hTDu8tjjnu
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 3, 2021
Buzzfeed released a trove of emails written by Fauci on Tuesday as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. One email from EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak thanked Fauci for “dispelling” the lab-leak theory, despite the group having close ties with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A second email refuted a notion from President Joe Biden, who claimed that Fauci had been “muzzled” by former President Donald Trump as early as March 2020.
