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In 2011, The Washington Post published an opinion piece titled A flu virus risk worth taking by Anthony S. Fauci, Gary J. Nabel and Francis S. Collins. Dr. Fauci, along with the other scientists, stated that important information and insights can come from generating a potentially dangerous virus in the laboratory and safeguarding against the potential accidental release or deliberate misuse of laboratory pathogens is imperative. Since the Wuhan Institute of Virology is only a 40-minute drive from the Huanan wet market where the first cluster of infections emerged in Wuhan according to the BBC, can anyone be certain that proper safeguards were implemented?

In regards to gain-of-function experiments, National Review reports that in 2012, Fauci believed the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks. Does anyone still believe such research is beneficial, considering the millions whove perished from a virus that might have accidentally escaped from a facility in Wuhan?

Microbiologist David Relman, molecular biologist Alina Chan, virologist Danielle Anderson and other experts have expressed the viewpoint that COVID-19 could have emanated from gain-of-function research or other controversial experiments and possibly leaked from a laboratory. Now that US Sen. Rand Paul sent a criminal referral to the US Department of Justice accusing Fauci of lying about gain-of-function research funding, how long before other Republicans join the Kentucky senator in questioning the accuracy of Faucis testimony?

In addition, how long before Democrats alter their political strategy from opposing Trump at all costs to being tougher on China before the 2022 midterms?

Fauci, despite being championed as paragon of virtue, doesnt fit the eventual shift in Democratic Party policy toward China. Polls show most Americans support a stronger foreign policy stance on China and US President Joe Biden took aim at the country with tough talk during his first speech to Congress. Biden recently approved a US Navy destroyer to sail through the Taiwan Strait and Democrats have joined with Republicans on anti-Beijing legislation.

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Dr. Fauci could be telling the truth during testimony, and Rand Paul could be wrong, however theres not a person on the planet who can guarantee that the Chinese government, or media, would tell the truth about a possible mishap, or accident.

From Andrew Cuomo to Michael Avenatti, Democrats have championed media darlings who served as a foil to former president Trump, only to jettison these individuals once more information about their past, or other controversies resulted in a fall from grace. Furthermore, Democrats quickly abandon lofty ideals (for political expediency) when women like Tara Reid accuse Biden of sexual assault, or Hunter Bidens emails show he used the n-word and introduced his father to shady business associates, so its not a stretch to imagine liberal politicians evoking Trumps rhetoric towards China, without being accused of racism or xenophobia. Fauci doesnt fit the more bellicose stance against China that Democrats will likely evoke before 2022, despite being hailed as a stoic opponent of Trumps handling of the pandemic.

Faucis political utility might be approaching an expiration date and pressure to be tougher on China might force Biden and Democrats to jettison Americas most revered COVID-19 expert. As Josh Rogan of The Washington Post explained on Twitter, @RandPaul was right and Fauci was wrong since funding went to gain-of-function research, just not experiments that met the definition of the NIH. With more revelations of American taxpayer funding (that began during the Obama administration) and Faucis role in this funding, fickle Democrats and journalists will likely distance themselves from a revered authority, especially since the 2022 midterms are around the corner.

The writer is an author, columnist, and journalist published in The Hill, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, The Jerusalem Post, and other publications.

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Democrats will turn on Fauci before 2022 - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

Dr. Anthony Fauci was back on Capitol Hill this morning, appearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which meant one inevitable thing: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would pick a fight he'd inevitably lose.

Right on cue, that's what happened.

Paul grilled Fauci about an NIH funded study that he says qualifies as gain-of-function research, the process of altering a pathogen to make it more transmissible in order to better predict emerging diseases. Fauci previously denied in previous Senate testimony that the NIH has directly funded the research at a lab in Wuhan, China that has come under intense scrutiny as a possible source of the virus.

The Kentucky Republican, whose background as an ophthalmologist leads him to claim expertise on scientific matters, ultimately suggested Fauci lied under oath. The comments were not well received.

Fauci, who oversees several NIH research programs as director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, replied, "I have not lied before Congress.... If anyone is lying here senator, it is you."

Fauci added that the study Paul was referring to does not constitute gain-of-function research. "Sen. Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I would like to say that officially," the immunologist explained. For emphasis, he repeated, "You do not know what you are talking about."

If this sounds familiar, it's because this morning's back and forth was the latest in a series. Circling back to our earlier coverage, Rand Paul keeps doing this, apparently under the impression that there's some value to the pointless exercises.

Round 1: In May 2020, Paul lectured Fauci about "people on the other side who are saying there's not going to be a surge" in coronavirus cases, so "we can safely open the economy." The second of multiple infection spikes soon followed.

Round 2: In June 2020, Paul complained that Fauci's public-health assessments were downers --"All I hear is, 'We can't do this', 'We can't do that'" -- and the crisis would ease with more upbeat rhetoric. "We just need more optimism," the Republican declared.

Round 3: In September 2020, in a tense back and forth, Paul tried to convince Fauci that New York had already reached herd immunity, which was amazingly foolish, even for him.

Round 4: In March 2021, the senator complained bitterly about public health experts recommending mask-wearing, including for those who've already been infected, calling it "theater." Fauci responded by offering a lesson on variants and evidence.

Round 5: In May 2021, after Paul peddled a theory pushed on Fox News the night before, Fauci explained that NIH was not complicit in funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Round 6 was this morning.

The overarching problem appears to be relatively straightforward: the former ophthalmologist genuinely seems to believe that he has unique and valuable insights, which frees him to reject the assessments of actual experts.

It was about a year ago when Rand Paul told reporters that COVID mitigation efforts in New York were not especially effective in saving lives -- "I think New York would have lost about the same amount of people whether they did anything or not," he said -- before arguing that the crisis has been "relatively benign" outside of "New England." (The senator isn't great at geography, either.)

In the months that followed, the virus claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Is it any wonder that Anthony Fauci seems exasperated with Rand Paul?

Read more:
Fauci to Rand Paul: 'You do not know what you are talking about'

Sen. Rand Paul accused Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday of lying to Congress about U.S. support for gain-of-function research in the Wuhan virology lab at the heart of probes into COVID-19s origins, sparking a fiery exchange.

You do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially, Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allery and Infectious Disease, told the senator.

Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican, pointed to Dr. Faucis claim on May 11 that the National Institutes of Health did not fund a type of research that could make viruses more transmissible or dangerous to humans.

He pointed to a paper in which the Wuhan labs lead doctor credited NIH with supporting work that involved the combination of two bat coronavirus genes to create something not found in nature. He also reminded Dr. Fauci that lying to Congress is a crime.

Dr. Fauci said qualified staff determined it did not constitute gain-of-function research.

I have never lied before the Congress and I do not retract that statement, Dr. Fauci said.

Mr. Paul said that did not comport with his reading of existing definitions.

Its a dance, and youre dancing around this, the senator said.

The exchange devolved into a testy exchange about whether Mr. Paul was implying that Dr. Fauci and NIH boosted research in China that may have led to the creation of the virus that causes COVID-19.

I totally resent the lie you are now propagating, Dr. Fauci said.

He said the viruses involved in the research raised by Mr. Paul could not result in the pathogen that caused the current pandemic.

Read this article:
Rand Paul, Anthony Fauci spar over whether Wuhan lab spent U ...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, clashed once again on Tuesday in televised testimony before a Senate committee about the nations response to Covid-19. As in the past, the argument centered on any role the National Institutes of Health which funds the institute Fauci runs played in funding so-called gain of function research at the lab in Wuhan, China where some have speculated the virus may have been engineered.

Senator Paul began his allotted time referencing a Chinese research paper that he said is proof the NIH was funding such research. That paper was published in 2017 and analyzes the SARS virus that emerged in 2003. Covid-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2, was first detected in December 2019, according to the World Health Organization.

Paul then fired his opening salvo: Dr. Fauci, as you are aware it is a crime to lie to Congress, before asking Fauci if he would like t retract his previous denial that the NIH had funded such research.

Senator Paul, I have never lied before congress and I do not retract that statement, replied Fauci. This paper that youre referring to was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain of function.

Its an accusation Paul, who is an ophthalmologist, has made before, and one that Fauci, who is an infectious disease specialist, has denied.

Paul then interrupted Fauci asking, You take an animal virus and you increase its transmissibility to humans and you say thats not gain of function?

That is correct, answered Fauci, before unloading on Paul. Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially.

How can you say thats not gain-of-function? asked Paul, cutting Fauci off. Its a dance and youre dancing around this because youre trying to obscure responsibility for four million people dying around the world from a pandemic.

If the point that you are making is that the grant that was funded as a subawardcreated SARS-COV-2, thats where you are getting Fauci said, pointing at Paul before the senator cut him off again.

We dont knowbut all the evidence is pointing that it came from the lab and there will be responsibility for those that funded the lab, including yourself, threatened Paul.

I totally resent the lie you are now propagating, senator, Fauci said, adding that it is molecularly impossible that research funded by NIH was responsible for SARS-CoV-2.

Paul then retreated a step, saying nobody is saying the viruses from the Wuhan lab caused the pandemic. He said that his contention was that the lab was still conducting gain-of-function research that was funded by NIH.

You are implying, replied Fauci as Paul tried to interrupt again, that we are responsible for the deaths of individuals, and if anyones lying here, Senator, it is you!

You can watch the entire exchange here or watch excerpts below.

Read more:
Fauci Rips Into Rand Paul During Televised Hearing: Senator Paul, You Do Not Know What You Are Talking About, And I Want To Say That Officially -...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) Sen. Rand Paul versus Dr. Anthony Fauci is a now-familiar scene on the national stage. Speaking one-on-one with LEX 18's Claire Crouch, the Republican from Kentucky minced no words on what he thinks of the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"If nobody pushes back and lets Dr. Fauci rule the day, I think that's a mistake not to have a live debate over these issues," Paul said.

According to his interpretation of the science, Paul believes vaccines should be used for those who have not been sick with COVID-19, going so far as to call those vaccines used on people who have had the disease a waste. He claims if someone has had COVID-19, they have immunity.

"Fauci is ignoring the science on this," Paul said. "He'll begrudgingly admit that you have immunity, but he's sort of an elitist because he wants one size fits all. Don't think about it, just go get a vaccine."

These opinions certainly have thrust the Kentucky Republican into the spotlight and at times to the detriment of his own safety. In recent weeks, Paul's family received multiple threats including five different phone calls, some of which he says are still under investigation by the FBI.

"People need to understand that in Washington, I talk to Democrats every day, to independents, we do not have cross words, we have dialogue," Paul said. "We've got to get to a point where we can disagree on things without being so angry at each other."

On the topic of Gov. Andy Beshear and the pandemic, Paul believes the governor has acted on pseudo-science and, through his orders, has done a lot to cripple businesses in the state.

"I think Governor Beshear has acted illegally and in an unconstitutional way," Paul said. "The state legislature has come forward and said if he has an emergency edict it expires in 30 days and would have to be approved by the state legislature. This is what the founders of both our state and the country wanted. They wanted checks and balances. They wanted a variety of opinions, not one person's opinion."

Paul said only time will tell if things like booster shots will be necessary to continue fighting the pandemic, but he said he looks forward to a country that is once again making and selling products in a mask-free society.

"I'm optimistic and hopeful for both Kentucky and our country," Paul said. "If you look at the daily numbers of COVID, they're going down dramatically so we are in a really great place right now."

Original post:
Sen. Rand Paul talks dispute with Dr. Fauci over COVID-19 with LEX 18 - LEX18 Lexington KY News