During a congressional hearing looking into the beginnings of the coronavirus and gain-of-function research, multiple scientists testified that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) did, in fact, fund gain-of-function research, despite earlier claims by Dr. Fauci.
“The statements made on repeated occasions to the public, to the press and to policymakers by the NIAID director, Dr. Fauci, have been untruthful. I do not understand why those statements are being made because they are demonstrably false,” Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard Ebright said Wednesday, when asked a question by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
In ‘Damning’ Capitol Hill Testimony, Scientists Contradict Fauci’s Claim That NIH Never Funded Gain-Of-Function Research https://t.co/MZpV3x1NCt pic.twitter.com/DGWekDaOkN
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 4, 2022
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that this contradiction was the biggest thing to come out of the Wednesday hearings.
“I was told directly to my face, and the quote is there from Dr. Fauci, they had never ever funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan,” Paul said, leaving the hearing. In May 2021 Fauci said “the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
“All three witnesses contradicted that,” Paul continued. “I think that’s a big deal because the first hearing we have had where scientists who actually look at this information [and], as informed as he is, completely disagree with him and say that the research was gain-of-function and the NIH paid for it.”
Sen. Paul tells reporters: "Three prominent scientists told us the NIH funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. This is in contrast to what Fauci told us directly in committee. ...Something is amiss here."
— Emily Kopp (@emilyakopp) August 3, 2022
Paul has been on the offensive against Fauci, calling for his resignation.
“Until you accept responsibility, we’re not going to get anywhere close to trying to prevent another lab leak of this dangerous sort of experiment,” Paul told Fauci in November. “You won’t admit that it’s dangerous, and for that lack of judgment, I think it’s time that you resign.”
