Recently, GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) called for the prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health — which is simply flat-out ridiculous. Firstly, Fauci does not have and has never had a role involving direct control over certain areas of public policy about which conservatives have complained throughout the pandemic. Fauci’s job involves leading scientific research efforts, and beyond those responsibilities, he serves as an adviser — adviser — to the president. During an appearance on Fox this past Friday, Fauci mocked Cawthorn’s call for his prosecution.
Dr. Fauci responds to Republican threats on Fox: "When a congressman makes a statement that … if they take over the House in 2022, I should be criminally investigated. On what basis is he making that comment?"
"Where do you come off about talking about criminal things?"
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 25, 2021
Fauci commented as follows:
‘I certainly don’t like how all this has turned out to be so contentious. I mean, and when a Congressman makes a statement — I forgot what it was — that if they take over the House in 2022, I should be criminally investigated. On what basis is he making that comment?.. You’ve got to get realistic about that… where do you come off about talking about criminal things and conspiring with [Chinese authorities]?’
Check out Fauci’s comments below:
Specifically, Cawthorn has alleged that Fauci lied to Congress. Certain Republicans have alleged that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. authorities funded so-called gain of function research at a lab in Wuhan, China, with the apparent implication that this research work could have somehow culminated in the pandemic, despite the lack of conclusive evidence for the idea that COVID-19 emerged from a lab at all. Fauci — who is, of course, an actual expert in these matters — has insisted to Congress that the U.S. did not fund “gain of function” research at that Chinese lab, and furthermore, he’s added, it’s “molecularly impossible” for the viral material that was studied to have led to COVID-19. Certain Republicans refuse to acknowledge this reality, and instead of engaging with the actual facts of the situation so that meaningful work can be done to help Americans and people around the world, these Republicans are sticking to theatrics.
Fauci directly took on Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during a recent public Senate hearing. When Paul attempted to push the idea that Fauci was lying about the supposed U.S.-funded conducting of “gain of function” research at the Chinese lab, Fauci replied: “Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly. And I want to say that officially. You do not know what you are talking about.”
