If there’s any true justice left in the world, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is about to discover something that history should have taught him nearly 50 ago — it’s not the crime that does you in, it’s the cover-up.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) molecular biologist Richard H. Ebright published a letter Wednesday indicating that an NIH grant funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The letter was addressed to House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky., and came two weeks after Francis Collins announced his retirement as NIH director. Ebright also posted the letter to Twitter, together with this statement:
"NIH corrects untruthful assertions by NIH Director Collins and NIAID Director Fauci that NIH had not funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan," he tweeted. "NIH states that EcoHealth Alliance violated Terms and Conditions of NIH grant AI110964."
Ebright’s charge directly contradicts statements Fauci made under oath to Sen. Rand Paul, also a Kentucky Republican, who repeatedly cross-examined Fauci during May and July Senate hearings on the subject of funding gain-of-function research.
"Gain-of-function" describes biological research, typically government-funded, with the goal of increasing the lethality of pathogens and viruses.
Paul tweeted, "'I told you so' doesn’t even begin to cover it here."
Ebright then brought a third name into the conspiracy of lies offered to the public — NIH principal deputy director Dr. Lawrence Tabak:
"The NIH received the relevant documents in 2018 and reviewed the documents in 2020 and again in 2021," he said. "The NIH — specifically, Collins, Fauci, and Tabak — lied to Congress, lied to the press, and lied to the public. Knowingly. Willfully. Brazenly."
Can’t get much plainer than that.
Ebright said that the funding was routed through EcoHealth Alliance, which repeatedly broke the terms of its grant.
"How many times can one grantee violate the Terms and Conditions of one NIH grant without being penalized?" he asked. "(Apparently, if the grantee is EcoHealth Alliance, the number is at least four.)"
Then he had to correct that by listing eight specific violations of EcoHealth Alliance’s grant agreement.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who was mocked for merely suggesting early on that the source of the COVID pandemic may have been a Chinese laboratory, suggested what the next step should be.
"Fauci knew," Cotton said. "He should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Fauci’s current annual salary is $417,608, making him the highest-paid federal employee.
The presidential salary is $400,000, and yes, the current occupier of the White House does little to earn that also.
Both Sens. Paul and Cotton were mercilessly hounded as conspiracy theorists for repeating their claims. But a healthy mistrust of the government isn’t the stuff of conspiracies; it’s a recognition of history.
After all, British government overreach prompted the founding of the United States.
As for Fauci, his age, 80, suggests that he should remember the Watergate scandal that centered on the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
Then-President Richard Nixon had nothing to do with either the planning or the execution of the break-in; he wasn’t even aware that it was under consideration.
He nonetheless resigned from office because he took part in covering the incident up.
Watergate was amateur hour, where the burglars were caught in the act. This is worse — much worse. The U.S.-funded gain-of-function research may have been what set off a global pandemic that killed millions.
If Fauci has an ounce of honor left within him, he’ll fall on his sword the same way Nixon fell on his in August 1974 — by resigning from office in disgrace.
But his hubris probably won’t allow him t0 do that. In that case he should be prosecuted for lying to Congress.
But Fauci is famous and loved, you may say. So was Martha Stewart, who was sentenced in 2004 to serve five months in a federal correctional facility, followed by two years of supervised release for, among other things, lying to federal investigators.
The NIH published a statement signed by Collins Wednesday that defended EcoHealth, and by extension, the NIH.
It alleged that "the virus is likely the result of viral evolution in nature" and not developed as a "biological weapon" as the result of gain-of-function research. The statement didn’t mention EcoHealth's violation of its grant terms, nor Fauci or Tabak.
It’s no conspiracy to mistrust a government of leaders who continually lie to us.
And they’ll continue lying to us if we don’t hold them accountable for their lies.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. Read Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.