Tulsi, Trump, and the War on Fauci – Part 1: The Smear Campaign
In this in-depth two-part series, leading virologist Angela Rasmussen breaks down the Trump and the GOP's attempt to imprison Anthony Fauci - and the potential dangerous implications for all of us.
Note from our Editor-in-Chief:
More than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic officially ended, Donald Trump and his allies remain consumed by their hatred of Dr. Anthony Fauci – and scientific expertise, more broadly. So we asked leading virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen to debunk the dangerous claims being made by the Trump administration and Tulsi Gabbard, until very recently the director of National Intelligence. Today, read Part 1 – looking at the most ridiculous accusations Gabbard made against Fauci – below, and watch out for Part 2 on the much-hyped COVID “lab leak” theory tomorrow. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, consider becoming one today to get past the paywall! This is one you won’t want to miss! - Mehdi
On her last day as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard was bestowed with a lei and declassified a trove of documents that supposedly reveal explosive truths about how the U.S. government started the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Gabbard, a shadowy network of “biolabs,” some of which had the capacity for working with dangerous emerging pathogens like Ebola and bird flu, was established in foreign countries to engage in risky research under the direction of the U.S. Department of Defense and Tony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). When he learned about the “lab leak,” through evidence that has not yet been revealed, Fauci ran a “circular” scheme of promoting the opinions of world-renowned experts in virology and virus evolution, as well as a variety of peer-reviewed papers published in top scientific journals, to cover up his own culpability in starting the pandemic. But he didn’t stop there: Gabbard alleges Fauci lied to Congress – a criminal act, if true.
Except that is not what these documents show. There’s no evidence in these documents that a “lab leak” occurred. And they certainly don’t show that Fauci lied to Congress or to anyone else, or committed any crime at all. The evidence does indicate that the pandemic began by spilling over from live animals sold at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China. The evidence is not consistent with a lab leak. When he testified that the work that NIAID funded in Wuhan couldn’t have started the pandemic, Fauci was telling the truth.
In this two-part series, I’ll first look at the most ridiculous allegations made against Fauci and what the Trump administration’s effort to prosecute him means for science, public health, preparedness, national security, and democracy. In Part 2, out tomorrow, I’ll address what the Gabbard documents do and don’t show about the origins of COVID.