Anthony Fauci Is No Hero

Fauci's role in the alleged lab leak cover-up is a different matter. As Reason's Christian Britschgi documented in his write-up of the hearing, it is now well-established that Fauci's straightforward denial to Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) regarding U.S. funding of gain-of-function research was at best misleading—and potentially an outright lie. (Lying to Congress is, in fact, a crime.) David Morens, a top Fauci deputy, has admitted to thwarting journalistic inquiries by making certain emails invisible to Freedom of Information Act requests. There are serious questions about whether Fauci pushed scientific experts in his orbit to embrace the natural spillover explanation of COVID-19's origins, possibly because the lab leak explanation would have invited greater scrutiny of U.S. health bureaucrats and their research priorities. I interviewed Paul this week about Fauci's role in suppressing the lab leak theory, and he stated that he's come to believe the National Institutes of Health are "more secretive than the CIA."

But whether Fauci has actually made himself criminally liable is beyond the point. It's abundantly clear that he did not deserve the abject hero worship he received throughout the pandemic. (Remember the Fauci candles?) His COVID-19 prevention policies are extremely suspect, his public advocacy for scientific enhancement of pathogenic viruses is incredibly concerning, and his attempts to control the narrative about the pandemic's origins are inexcusable. Just watch this terrific roundup by Matt Orfalea of all the times Fauci denied the lab leak theory, despite now maintaining that he never expressed a strong opinion one way or the other.