Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci has “lied dozens of times” and should be held responsible.
Paul made a brief appearance on “Hannity” to discuss a report from The Intercept about the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its alleged involvement in funding gain-of-function research, which Fauci has repeatedly denied. (RELATED: ‘This Idiot Would Have Us Not Flying For 3 Months’: Rand Paul Flames Op-Ed’s ‘Obscene’ Rules For The Unvaccinated, Swings At Fauci)
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Hannity began by introducing a few key points from The Intercept’s report, noting that Dr. Richard Ebright, a scientist quoted in the report, had stated clearly in a tweet that he believed both Fauci and current NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins had been “untruthful.”
“The documents make it clear that assertions by the NIH Director, Francis Collins, and the NIAID Director, Anthony Fauci, that the NIH did not support gain-of-function research or potential pandemic pathogen enhancement at WIV [Wuhan Institute of Virology] are untruthful,” Ebright tweeted.
The documents make it clear that assertions by the NIH Director, Francis Collins, and the NIAID Director, Anthony Fauci, that the NIH did not support gain-of-function research or potential pandemic pathogen enhancement at WIV are untruthful.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
Paul, who directly accused Fauci of lying during his Senate testimony on the coronavirus origins, said that he believed Fauci had been working to obscure the NIH’s possible involvement in funding gain-of-function research from the very beginning because “he was truly worried that this came from the lab.”
“You have to realize this is the same Dr. Fauci who in 2012 said that, ‘Even if a pandemic occurred, the research is worth it.’ He has always been an an advocate of gain-of-function research,” Paul continued. “I find that hard to believe that we still would have someone with such poor judgment who believes even a pandemic would be worth it that that person is in charge of the research for a government? I find it astounding.”
Paul went on to say that, in questioning, Fauci had continued to deny that the NIH was funding gain-of-function research.
“Yes, they were taking viruses that were not as transmissible to humans and adding S proteins which is how the virus attaches to the cell from bat viruses out of the cave and lo and behold they created viruses that are not found in nature more transmissible than when started, the very definition of gain of function and you’ve never heard one of the journalists that gets to interview Dr. Fauci, you have never heard one of them ask, ‘Why is it not gain of function?’ He just says, ‘Oh, it isn’t.’ Why is it not gain of function? The viruses are more transmissible to human, why is not gain of function?” Paul asked.
“If I were to lie to Congress, I’m pretty sure, I’m pretty certain that I would be charged with a crime,” Hannity said. “You have been saying your belief is under oath that Dr. Anthony Fauci lied to Congress. Last time I checked, that is against the law, isn’t it, senator?”
“It is a felony punishable by five years in jail,” Paul said. “I don’t think Biden’s Department of Justice will do anything with it, but yes, it is very dangerous to have public officials who we need to have trust in and coming to lie to us. He has lied dozens of times. Usually he tells us it’s for our own good.”
Paul concluded by saying that Fauci had at the very least shown “incredibly poor judgment” and that he should be removed.