In a significant development regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), a member of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, has shed new light on the role of Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The revelation revolves around an email from Fauci that reportedly details his knowledge of the suspicious nature of the virus and his awareness of gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, from as early as February 2020.
During a Friday evening interview on Newsmax, McCormick said that Fauci’s email conveyed that scientists he had consulted were concerned about “mutations in the virus that would be most unusual to have evolved naturally in the bats.” Moreover, these scientists suspected the mutation may have been “intentionally inserted.” The suspicion was magnified by the knowledge that scientists at Wuhan University, where the outbreak originated, had been working on gain-of-function experiments related to bat viruses adapting to human infection.
Rep. McCormick to Newsmax: Email Shows Fauci Suspected COVID Came From Lab https://t.co/2ugg00o9nx Fauci knew COVID came from a lab because he financed it with US tax dollars. Dr. Joseph Mengele Fauci should be indicted for crimes against humanity.
— Skip Blough (@SGTBlueMP) July 15, 2023
The reality that Fauci, who had been with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1968, had early access to such vital information casts a concerning shadow over his public stance during the pandemic. Despite the mounting evidence and continued insistence from various quarters that a lab leak might have triggered the pandemic, Fauci persisted in denying this possibility.
Furthermore, the retired NIAID director has repeatedly denied that NIH-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan. However, the recent revelations directly counter his assertions, with McCormick stating, “He absolutely knew what was going on.”
As McCormick highlighted, the more evidence the committee unearthed, the less likely it appeared that the virus originated from nature, contrasting China’s official position that the virus was spawned in a Wuhan wet market. This shift in perception is particularly crucial, given that a lab-leak origin raises questions about the conduct and ethics of scientific research.
An especially concerning element that McCormick touched on is the alleged cover-up that ensued, accusing Fauci of allowing grants to convince scientists to change their minds and support his narrative. Furthermore, the subcommittee’s conclusions indicted Fauci and former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins for drafting and promoting a paper to suppress the lab-leak hypothesis.
In parallel to McCormick’s allegations, Dr. David Asher, a former State Department investigator, bluntly stated on Fox News’s “The Story” that “it’s a cover-up.” Asher believes the coming weeks will reveal more about the true origins of COVID-19 as more internal communications are uncovered.
In light of these revelations, a renewed scrutiny of the pandemic’s origins and the role critical players like Fauci played is necessary for accountability and the future prevention of such global crises.
