(Matthew Doarnberger, Headline USA) During a congressional hearing on Monday, Republicans accused former COVID czar Anthony Fauci of a giving a “new definition of operational gain-of-function research.”
Fauci, who retired in 2022 as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was called to testify for 14 hours before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, according to a press release from the House Oversight Committee.
“I have, through this process in the last three years, read many, many published articles about gain-of-function research, or creation of a chimera, this is a new one,” said subcommittee chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio.
Gain-of-function research, which attempts to mutate naturally occurring viruses into super-viruses by inserting new genetic fragments, has become a controversial topic as many speculate that it may have been responsible for the creation of the COVID-19 strain that leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
It could potentially be used both for the development of powerful vaccines and dangerous bioweapons.
"Health care" pic.twitter.com/dca2Tymteh
— John's Memes (@Johnmc42069) December 31, 2023
The research was heavily restricted—if not banned outright—in the United States. However, Fauci and other supporters of the controversial method continued to fund it elsewhere.
The overarching issue with regard to funding was whether or not US tax dollars were used to support gain of function research in order to create the COVID virus in a Chinese lab.
A report from the Government Accountability Office showed that the National Institutes of Health—which oversees the NIAID—granted $1.4 million to Chinese research institutions from 2014 to 2019.
Fauci acknowledged that he signed off on all foreign and domestic research grants without personally reviewing the proposals and could not describe any mechanism that would allow the NIAID to conduct oversight over foreign laboratories receiving money from the United States.
“Dr. Fauci signed off on all domestic and foreign research grants without reviewing the proposals and admitted that he was unaware if NIAID conducted oversight of the laboratories they fund.” https://t.co/u5d8BlHVbm
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 9, 2024
The committee also questioned Fauci about a whistleblower who claims that he secretly visited CIA headquarters in order to influence analysts who were later unable to determine COVID-19 origins.
As expected, the longtime bureaucrat offered little to assist lawmakers in their efforts to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
While discussing the origins of COVID-19, Fauci claimed that he “did not recall” information or conversations related to the virus over 100 times.
