Story at a glance:
- Sen. Rand Paul thinks Anthony Fauci deserves five years in prison.
- Paul has accused Fauci of lying to Congress.
- The two clashed this summer during a Senate hearing.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) intensified his criticism of Anthony Fauci, claiming Wednesday that the nation’s top infectious diseases expert lied to Congress and should face a five-year prison sentence.
The senator has claimed for months that Fauci, who serves as the president’s chief medical adviser and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, lied to Congress about whether the National Institute of Health (NIH) funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Mediate reported. Gain-of-function research refers to the process of changing pathogens to test scientific theories, develop technologies and find treatments.
Paul made the claims again on Fox News this week.
“It’s a felony punishable by five years in jail,” Paul said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “I don’t think Biden Department of Justice will do anything with it, but … it is very dangerous to have public officials who we need to have trust incoming and lying to us. But he has lied dozens of times. Usually, he tells us it’s for our own good.”
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
As Changing America previously reported, Rand referred Fauci to the Justice Department in July.
That same month, Rand escalated his clash with Fauci during a Senate hearing. The senator suggested that Fauci and the NIH could be somewhat responsible for the pandemic and he cited a paper that alleges that the lab was conducting illegal research, a claim that Fauci denied.
“I totally resent the lie you are now propagating, senator,” Fauci said.
Paul interjected, saying: “You are obviously obfuscating the truth.”
Fauci replied, “I’m not obfuscating the truth — you are.” He continued: “You are implying that what we did was responsible for the deaths of individuals. I totally resent that…And if anybody is lying here senator, it is you.”
“He has dissembled,” Paul said in Wednesday’s interview. “He has obfuscated. There are other, nicer words, but he has definitely lied to the American public, and he should be held responsible. But not just that — the judgment that we should continue to fund this lab and the virus that in all likelihood came from the lab, I think it is such incredibly poor judgment that he should be immediately removed.”
The theory that the coronavirus leaked from a lab has been dismissed in the past, but is gaining traction as a possible explanation for the origins of the virus.
READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA
FAUCI SAYS HE’S ‘KEEPING A VERY CLOSE EYE ON’ NEW COVID-19 VARIANT
TUCKER CARLSON DEFENDS FAKE VACCINATION CARDS
KIM JONG UN TURNS DOWN VACCINES, INSISTS ON FIGHTING PANDEMIC ‘IN OUR STYLE’
BOOSTER SHOTS MAY ONLY BE AVAILABLE TO PFIZER VACCINE RECIPIENTS AT FIRST, OFFICIALS SAY
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW COVID-19 VARIANT C.1.2 DETECTED IN SOUTH AFRICA
RAND PAUL SAYS ‘HATRED FOR TRUMP’ IS STOPPING STUDY OF HORSE AND HUMAN DRUG TO TREAT COVID-19
STUDY SAYS NEW LAMBDA VARIANT COULD BE VACCINE-RESISTANT
AMERICAN ‘ARCHBISHOP’ IS DISTRIBUTING BLEACH AS ‘MIRACLE CURE’ FOR COVID-19