Anthony Fauci, the longtime head of the US National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) seemed sharp as a tack last year while jousting with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) over 'gain-of-function' research he funded in Wuhan, China - however now that the worm has turned, poor Fauci's memory appears to have failed him.
While under oath, Fauci, 83, told lawmakers that he 'could not recall' things a surprising number of times.
"There may be over 100 or so, so far, ‘I don’t recall’, ‘I don’t remember’ answers," said Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) following 14 hours of closed-door testimony in front of the House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic - his first time speaking under oath since he left office.
"We’re doing a lot of conversation about the process of research, of grants, oversight, if you will, of regulations, and possible solutions for a better path going forward," Wenstrup continued.
According to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), lawmakers were going over the grants process with Fauci, trying to figure out whether US funding directly contributed to the creation of Covid-19, adding that Democrats even asked him about his involvement with a controversial paper that claimed COVID-19 couldn't have come from a lab.
Part of the private session drilled down on how Dr. Fauci defines gain-of-function, which is known to many scientists as enhancing the pathogenesis or transmissibility of a virus or pathogen.
Dr. Fauci has claimed that his agency did not fund gain-of-function research in China, even though a report from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), of which the NIAID is part, concluded that NIAID-funded experiments resulted in the creation of a bat coronavirus that made mice sicker. -Epoch Times
"The one thing that’s been most interesting is a new definition that we’ve heard, and Dr. Fauci refers to this as his operational definition of gain-of-function," said Wenstrup. "It’s something that we need to look into a little bit more. And so I think in the future, if he’s discussing this and he’s talking about gain of function, he needs to define his definition of gain-of-function research."
But Wenstrup was most surprised at how much Fauci 'forgot.'
"I think what I’m most surprised about is how much he doesn’t recall considering the severity of this event for the world, and that he was the face of the government’s response to COVID," he said.
That said, Fauci did recall recommending university vaccine mandates, and "admitted that America’s vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic could increase vaccine hesitancy in the future,” the panel said in a summary of the second day of questioning.
According to Fauci, recommendations to maintain a six-foot distance in schools, businesses and other places were not likely based on data.
"It just sort of appeared," Fauci was quoted as stating.
"Dr. Fauci’s transcribed interview revealed systemic failures in our public health system and shed light on serious procedural concerns with our public health authority," Wenstrup said, adding "It is clear that dissenting opinions were often not considered or suppressed completely, should a future pandemic arise, America’s response must be guided by scientific facts and conclusive data."
"While we remain frustrated with Dr. Fauci’s inability to recollect COVID-19 information that is important for our investigation, others we have spoken to do recall the facts. I appreciate Dr. Fauci’s willingness to testify privately in front of the select subcommittee and look forward to speaking with him further at a public hearing this year."
More via the Epoch Times;
Dr. Wenstrup said that a transcript would be made public “eventually” after it was reviewed by all parties.
COVID-19 Origins
Dr. Fauci, according to the panel, also told members that the idea that COVID-19 came from a laboratory is not a conspiracy theory.
He was grilled on his position on the origins of COVID-19 because for years he promoted the theory of a natural origin, even though to this day no animal host has been identified.
Dr. Fauci told reporters from the White House podium on April 17, 2020, that a new study featured “a group of highly qualified evolutionary virologists” who “looked at the sequences [in the virus] and the sequences in bats as they evolve.”
“And the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human,” he added. “I don’t have the authors right now, but we can make that available to you.”
That paper involved five scientists detailing their view on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, saying in part that genomic data “clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.”
Dr. Fauci is not mentioned in the paper but he along with his then-boss, Dr. Francis Collins, prompted its drafting, according to an email from Kristian Andersen, one of the authors, obtained by the subcommittee.
“Our main work over the last couple of weeks has been focused on trying to disprove any type of lab theory,” Mr. Andersen said in another missive.
Previously released emails show that both Drs. Fauci and Collins were asked for, and provided, feedback on earlier drafts of the paper.
Mr. Andersen and others later received an increase in grants from Dr. Fauci’s agency, an Epoch Times review found.
An email published in 2023 revealed that Dr. David Morens, a deputy of Dr. Fauci, said Dr. Fauci had suddenly given him approval to discuss the origins of COVID-19 with National Geographic.
“I interpret this to mean that our government is lightening up but that Tony doesn’t want his fingerprints on origin stories,” he wrote.
Many experts, including analysts at the FBI, now consider the origins either an open question or say the available evidence shows it came from a lab.
