Paul to Fauci: "The American people deserve an apology"

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Wednesday accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of funding "gain-of-function" research at a lab in Wuhan, China, leading to the COVID-19 pandemic and then covering up his involvement, repeating his longstanding claims that Dr. Fauci has vehemently denied.

"The decision to fund dangerous gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, will likely go down in history as perhaps one of the worst public health decisions. Frankly, the American people deserve an apology," Sen. Paul, the chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in his opening statement. "I hope today, Dr. Fauci, you will come clean, admit it was a mistake to fund dangerous research in China."

Sen. Paul, who recently released portions of Dr. Fauci's private diary, accused the former longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of saying "one thing in public, and another in private."

"While you concluded publicly that COVID occurred naturally, your private record tells a different story," he said. "Instead of an apology, you have for years avoided responsibility."

Gain-of-function research generally involves scientists modifying a pathogen to study whether changes could make it more transmissible, more virulent or otherwise alter its biological properties. Supporters say the research can help scientists better understand potential pandemic threats and develop countermeasures, while critics argue it poses biosafety and biosecurity risks if dangerous pathogens are created or accidentally released.

Sen. Paul accused Dr. Fauci, with whom he has long clashed, of hiding behind a narrow definition of "gain-of-function" when previously telling lawmakers his institute did not fund potentially dangerous research at the Wuhan lab.

"The American people weren't asking for a semantics debate over what is gain of function," Sen. Paul said. "They were asking, does common sense say this research was dangerous in Wuhan? They wanted to know whether their money funded experiments in Wuhan that made bat coronaviruses better able to infect humans. The answer is yes."

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