Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., believes Dr. Anthony Fauci owes Americans an apology for his role in funding research in China that he contends was dangerous and potentially led to the COVID-19 outbreak. The remarks come ahead of a scheduled hearing Wednesday where the two are expected to confront each other.
Paul, who leads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, indicated that Fauci has never apologized for funding gain-of-function research, defined as work that enhances a virus's transmissibility or lethality. "I mean, I'd like to hear him say he's sorry," Paul stated. "Can he say he is sorry for funding — the research was dangerous research in China? Almost everybody agrees with that."
Paul has been critical of Fauci's handling of the pandemic and his alleged involvement in funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He released over 1,000 pages of Fauci's communications in the lead-up to the hearing. "Now he says, 'Oh, well, it didn't meet this definition or this definition, it was dangerous research," Paul said. "It was a judgment error. It was a profound judgment error."
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stepped down from his role in 2022. Paul has previously accused Fauci of lobbying for a $1 million prize while leading the COVID-19 response. He has also suggested that Fauci could face legal consequences despite a presidential pardon, stating that Fauci "deserves to be in prison for his alleged role in funding gain-of-function research."
Adding to the scrutiny, Fauci's former top advisor, Dr. David Morens, was indicted earlier this year on charges related to evading public records laws, concealing communications about COVID-19's origins, and destroying federal records.
Paul also pointed to research conducted in 2010 by Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier, which produced a transmissible version of H5N1 bird flu. Paul recalled Fauci's stance at the time, stating in a Washington Post op-ed that "even if a pandemic should occur from a scientist being bitten or somehow infected, the knowledge is worth the risk." Paul countered, "And I don't think it is."