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| Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press |
After months of negotiations, former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci has agreed to testify in Congress on the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the virus’s origins in China.
The testimony by Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 until last year, will be his first before the Republican-controlled House.
The U.S. intelligence community remains divided over whether the virus leaked from a laboratory or arose naturally, leaving lawmakers still searching for answers on how the pandemic began and the effectiveness of the U.S. response.
The arrangements for Fauci’s testimony are extensive. They will begin with two days of transcribed interviews behind closed doors in January. A public hearing, which is expected to be contentious, will be held at a later date.
Fauci, who won praise in many quarters for his high-profile role battling the pandemic and the earlier HIV/AIDS crisis, has been criticized by some GOP lawmakers who say he played down the possibility that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the U.S. government’s links to virus research at the facility. During the pandemic, the longtime public-health official, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for almost four decades, became an unlikely figure of hatred and ire on the right over his support for government health mandates and other issues. He said he received death threats and his family was harassed, and in 2021, he was given an armed security detail.
In a letter to Fauci today, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R., Ohio), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said the committee and Fauci’s team had agreed Fauci would give a transcribed interview on Jan. 8 and 9 for seven hours each day.
The letter states that two government lawyers and two personal attorneys can accompany Fauci at those sessions, which won’t be public. The date for the public hearing hasn’t yet been set.
“As the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States, you have knowledge pertinent to both investigating and evaluating the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also preparing for future pandemics,” wrote Wenstrup. --->READ MORE HERE
Former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci will testify twice before a House select subcommittee next year, sitting for a transcribed interview and subsequent public hearing about the federal government’s pandemic response.
“Dr. Fauci was the face of America’s public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic, and his testimony will serve as a crucial component of the Select Subcommittee’s investigations into the origin of COVID-19, coercive mandates, gain-of-function type research, scientific censorship, and more,” House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) said in a statement.
“It is time for Dr. Fauci to confront the facts and address the numerous controversies that have arisen during and after the pandemic. Americans deserve trusted public health leaders who prioritize the well-being of our people over any personal or political goals,” he added.
“Thankfully, retirement from public service does not shield one from Congressional oversight nor accountability to the American people. During Dr. Fauci’s upcoming testimonies, honesty is non-negotiable.”
The former longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will answer questions for seven hours per day on Jan. 8 and 9, 2024, accompanied by two personal attorneys and two government counsel.
Fauci will also attend a public hearing to be announced at a later date, according to a letter sent to his attorneys.
The House COVID subcommittee released emails earlier this year showing that Fauci had “prompted,” helped to edit and gave final approval to a research paper meant to “disprove” the so-called “lab leak” theory of the origin of SARS-CoV-2. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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