Rep. McCormick accuses Fauci of lying to Congress, tells Newsmax

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., shared with Newsmax on Friday his belief that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), provided false information to Congress regarding government funding at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

“I do believe, based on the evidence we’ve seen, that he has misled Congress,” McCormick stated on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren” with guest host Tom Basile.

In his testimony to Congress in May 2021, Fauci claimed that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which includes NIAID, never funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. However, according to the NIH, gain-of-function research involves experiments to enhance the transmissibility and virulence of pathogens.

Contradicting Fauci’s statement, NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak testified before the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that NIH did fund gain-of-function research through EcoHealth Alliance at the Wuhan lab. This contradicted both Fauci’s testimony and EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak’s denial of NIH funding for such research.

McCormick expressed his intention to challenge Fauci during his upcoming testimony on June 3, citing Tabak’s testimony and additional evidence discovered about the Wuhan lab and government funding.

Dr. David Morens, a top advisor to Fauci at NIAID, is scheduled to testify on May 22 in front of the subcommittee regarding allegations that he obstructed investigations into the origins of COVID-19 to protect Fauci. Subsequent emails suggested that delays in Morens’ testimony were coordinated to shield Fauci from scrutiny.

In 2020, the Trump administration suspended government funding to EcoHealth Alliance, which was later reinstated during Biden’s presidency. Recently, funding for EcoHealth Alliance was suspended again due to issues with monitoring, progress reporting, and potential violations of grant terms.

© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.