Fauci denies he’s stepping down to avoid likely GOP probe: ‘I have nothing to hide… I am not afraid’

Dr. Anthony Fauci wants the public to believe that his abrupt decision this week to announce his resignation come December wasn’t motivated by a desire to avoid being investigated by congressional Republicans if they retake the House and Senate.

“This wasn’t a way to avoid Republican investigations if they take over the House and/or the Senate [was it]?” he was asked point-blank during an appearance this Tuesday on Fox News’ “Your World.”

“Not at all. Not even a little bit. I mean, I have nothing to hide, and I can defend every decision I have made, so I’m not afraid of that at all. That didn’t even come in as a minor consideration,” Fauci replied.

Host Neil Cavuto then pressed the ostensible doctor on whether, following his retirement, he’d be willing to testify in front of Congress as a private citizen.

“Yeah, of course. I believe that oversight is an important part of the government process, but some of the things that have gone on have been outright character assassination. That’s not oversight. So if they want to get into legitimate, dignified oversight, I’d be happy to do that,” Fauci replied.

See what he did there? He’s OK with testifying, but only so long as it’s “legitimate” as per his definition of the word.

Congressional Republicans have for their part made it abundantly clear that they will be investigating Fauci and also calling for him to testify, regardless of whether he likes it or not:

Fauci’s obvious anger toward Republicans stems from the tough questions they’ve asked him during his prior testimonies, particularly the questions concerning his alleged funding of gain-of-function research.

“Dr. Fauci, knowing that it is a crime to lie to Congress, do you wish to retract your statement of May 11th where you claimed that the NIH never funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan?” Sen. Rand Paul bluntly asked him during his latest testimony last month.

“Sen. Paul, I have never lied before the Congress, and I do not retract that statement. This paper that you are referring to was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain-of-function,” Fauci replied.

Paul then tried to ask a follow-up question, but an irate Fauci exclaimed, “Let me finish!”

Being as the senator is a member of Congress, he did NOT let Fauci finish.

“You take an animal virus and you increase the transmissibility to humans. You’re saying that’s not gain-of-function?” the senator said.

“That is correct. And Sen. 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,” Fauci responded, still irate.

Paul then hit him with a brutal fact-check.

“This is your definition that you guys wrote. It says that scientific research that increases the transmissibility among animals is gain-of-function. They take animal viruses that only occur in animals and they increase their transmissibility to humans. How you can say that is not gain-of-function. It’s a dance, and you’re dancing around this because you’re trying to obscure responsibility for four million people dying around the world from a pandemic,” he said.

Watch the back-and-forth exchange below:

Fauci has also faced tough questions over his support of lockdown policies that wrecked the economy and destroyed countless businesses.

Appearing on CNN in late July, Fauci disputed the idea that he’d done anything wrong. He also essentially dared Sen. Paul to investigate him.

“If they want to [investigate me], go ahead. My records are an open book. They are talking about things that are really bizarre, like crimes against democracy by shutting down the government,” he said.

“All I have ever done, and go back and look at everything I’ve ever done, was to recommend commonsense, good, CDC-recommended public health policies that have saved millions of lives. If you want to investigate me for that, go ahead.”

Listen:

The doctor has also been questioned about his insanely high pension, his attempts to silence critics of the government’s lockdown policy, and more.

It’s not clear what, specifically, Republicans will ask him about if they retake the House and Senate come November.

That being said, the chances of Republicans taking the Senate seem bleak at the moment, so there’s no guarantee that Sen. Paul will personally have the opportunity to investigate him.

Vivek Saxena

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