In a recent development, Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has called for the arrest and prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
This follows the admission by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Congress that they funded the controversial "gain-of-function" research in Wuhan, China, before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
Musk took to his social media platform, X, to express his outrage, sharing a post with the headline "SICK LIES" featuring a picture of Fauci.
The admission of the NIH's involvement in the funding came from Lawrence Tabak, the principal deputy director of the NIH, during a House subcommittee hearing. He confirmed that the US government had indeed funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where bat coronaviruses were modified shortly before the outbreak in late 2019.
When questioned by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic about the NIH's funding of the gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through the Manhattan-based nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, Tabak responded, "It depends on your definition of gain-of-function research. If youre speaking about the generic term, yes, we did."
This admission contradicts Fauci's previous vehement denials. In May 2021, Fauci, now 83, testified to Congress, "The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology."
Musk did not specify the criminal charges Fauci should face. However, perjury and lying to Congress are potential charges, as suggested by congressional Republicans. Both offenses carry up to five years in prison and generally have five-year statutes of limitations.
The potential for additional charges stemming from the alleged coverup of US funding for the Chinese labs suspected of releasing the deadly respiratory virus remains unclear. The virus has claimed at least 1,190,546 US lives, according to Centers for Disease Control data, and has caused significant economic, social, and educational damage worldwide.
Fauci served as President Bidens chief medical adviser in 2021 and 2022. Despite presenting himself as a beacon of reason and good health guidance during the early phase of the pandemic, critics, including allies of former President Donald Trump, have pointed out his often inconsistent advice, including on mask-wearing.
Documents published in late 2021 by The Intercept revealed that the Manhattan-based nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance used grants from Faucis agency to fund Wuhan Institute of Virology experiments that modified three bat coronaviruses distinct from COVID-19. The research found that the viruses became much more infectious among "humanized" mice when human-type receptors were added to them.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which includes NIH, has since barred EcoHealth from receiving federal funding for the next three years.
The origins of COVID-19 remain uncertain due to the Chinese governments refusal to allow an independent international investigation. Some US government agencies, including the FBI and the Energy Department, believe the pandemic originated from a lab leak in China.
While President Biden has said little about determining the origins of the pandemic, his predecessor and November election challenger, Donald Trump, has proposed forcing China to pay $10 trillion in "reparations."
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