Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and chief medical advisor to the president, reportedly had to be hosed down in his “skivvies” after receiving a letter with a white powdery substance, according to POLITICO.
Fauci was opening his mail on Aug. 27, 2020 when white powder flew up into his face after opening an envelope, POLITICO reported. Once the powder flew into Fauci’s face, Fauci believed the substance could be one of three things. It could be a harmless substance, ricin (which would make him ill) or ricin, which can be deadly, POLITICO reported. (RELATED: Fauci Claimed His Approach From The Beginning Was To ‘Keep An Open Mind’ On Lab-Leak Theory)
In the hours following Fauci opening the letter with white powder inside, members of his team hosed him down in a chemical lab, according to POLITICO. Fauci had to strip down to his “skivvies” and stand in a tub that looked like a kiddy pool as they washed him down and waited for the test results of the substance to come back. Fauci and his wife were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the test results returned and showed that the substance was not anthrax or ricin.
Dr. Fauci reportedly resisted President Trump’s directive to cancel a virus research grant linked to the Wuhan lab.
Why?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) June 24, 2021
The story, according to POLITICO, is part of a new book authored by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta of the Washington Post titled “Nightmare Scenario,” which criticizes former President Donald Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book, POLITICO reported, claim that Fauci became the target of pranks like this due to the former president’s rhetoric and overall approach to the pandemic.
Fauci had previously addressed the white-powder envelope prank in an interview with The New York Times, but left out the part about being hosed down in a kiddy pool by his staff.