![Dr. Anthony Fauci says he would be happy to cooperate with oversight hearings [Screenshot CNN]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screen-Shot-2022-08-23-at-10.38.55-AM-e1661265587283.png "Dr. Anthony Fauci says he would be happy to cooperate with oversight hearings [Screenshot CNN]")
Dr. Anthony Fauci has reportedly “salivated” at the idea of testifying at an oversight hearing, likening it to “Benghazi 2.0.”
Fauci announced he plans to step down from his current roles in December as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor as Republicans vow to keep investigating him over the origins of COVID-19.
Fauci’s friend, AIDS activist Peter Staley, said Fauci is eager to sit before an oversight panel because he’s “armed with the truth,” Politico reported.
“He and I, in our private moments, have at times salivated at imagining Benghazi 2.0,” Staley reportedly said. “He’s armed with the truth, and they’re armed with crazy. It’s like, bring it on.”
Fauci made similar comments Tuesday on CNN, saying he is more than “happy to cooperate” with oversight hearings so long as they are “dignified” and don’t assault his character.
Fauci said he has “nothing to hide” and his decision to step down has nothing to do with oversight hearings, adding he doesn’t mind partaking in the hearings if they’re fair.
“I would be happy to cooperate, so long as we make it something that is a dignified oversight, which it should be, and not just bringing up ridiculous things and attacking my character,” Fauci said. “That’s not oversight.”
The medical expert also said that “what has happened up to now” has been nothing short of “character assassination.” (RELATED: ‘Not Surprised’: Rand Paul Slams Republicans Who Voted To Keep Fauci But Impeach Trump)
Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul vowed in February to investigate Fauci if Republicans take control of the Senate in November. Paul and Fauci have publicly sparred over accusations Fauci lied about his agency funding gain of function research in Wuhan prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Fauci has accused Paul of attacking him for partisan purposes.
Paul then put an amendment forward in March that would “eliminate” Fauci’s role as Director of the NIAID, saying “no one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans.”
Paul criticized Fauci in June about governmental recommendations regarding COVID-19 booster shots for children. Fauci admitted that “not enough data” had been gathered to conclude booster shots reduced hospitalizations or deaths in children.
“That’s not science, that’s conjecture, and we should not be making public policy on it,” Paul retorted.