Fauci: Senator Paul Is Incorrect — I Never ‘Lied or Misled’ About Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci claimed Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that he had never lied or misled about the research funded by the NIH.

This Week With George Stephanopoulos said, “The controversy on if the U.S. is funding risky covered research in Wuhan, was kicked up again this week when the NIH  released a letter about that research that showed that the subcontractor had not disclosed some results in a timely manner. Some have seized on that to say you, and others misled the public. The NIH says that is false. Our medical unit backs that up, but Senator Rand Paul steps up that criticism in the interview with Axios on HBO. Let’s play that.”

In a video, when asked if Fauci should be fired, Sen. Paul said, “Absolutely. The thing is, is just for lack of judgment, if nothing else. You know, he’s probably never going to admit he lied. He’s going to continue to disassemble and stretch the truth.”

Fauci said, “I obviously totally disagree with Senator Paul. He’s totally incorrect. Neither I nor Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the NIH, lied or misled about what we’ve done. The framework under which we have guidance about the conduct about the research that we fund, the funding at the Wuhan Institute, was to be able to determine what is out there in the environment in bat viruses in China. The research was very strictly under what we call a framework of oversight of the type of research. under those conditions which we have explained very, very clearly, does not constitute research of gain of function of concern.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN