Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and former Chief Medical Advisor to the President Dr. Anthony Fauci have engaged in a series of heated clashes in the Senate regarding the U.S. funding of virus “gain-of-function” research, with Fauci vehemently denying the charge.
The tension between the two has escalated, as Paul has now taken a significant step by officially filing a criminal referral with the Department of Justice, accusing Fauci of lying under oath.
This directly contradicts everything he said in committee hearing to me, denying absolutely that they funded any gain of function, and it’s absolutely a lie. That’s why I sent an official criminal referral to the DOJ. https://t.co/Y191SmMiIr
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 29, 2023
The basis of Paul’s criminal reference centers around an email from February 2020, where Fauci recounted a conversation with British medical researcher Jeremy Farrar, who was then the director of the Wellcome Trust.
In the email, Fauci described concerns expressed by a task force, including Francis Collins, former Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, about certain virus mutations that appeared unlikely to have occurred naturally in bats.
Fauci also mentioned suspicions that these mutations might have been intentionally inserted, given the gain-of-function experiments conducted in Wuhan University related to bat viruses adapting to human infection. This email directly contradicts Fauci’s earlier claims during the committee hearing, where he denied any funding for gain-of-function research.
Sen. Paul emphasized the significance of this evidence, branding Fauci’s denial as an outright lie and prompting him to submit an official criminal referral to the DOJ. It’s worth noting that this is not the first time Paul has attempted to alert the DOJ about Fauci’s deception.
In July 2021, the senator wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, making similar accusations regarding the NIH’s funding of “gain-of-function research” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology during Fauci’s tenure as the director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Despite his efforts, Paul recognizes that these referrals will likely face challenges from the Department of Justice, which is known to prioritize other matters over investigating alleged lies, coverups, and abuses of power related to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the senator’s persistence in pursuing accountability has been met with skepticism, given the prevailing political climate. Nevertheless, his commitment to the truth and pursuit of justice remains unwavering.
