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Fauci Accuses Senator Paul of Attacking Him for ‘Political Gain’
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci refuted claims by Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, that he was undermining scientists with opposing views.
“Do you really think it’s appropriate to use your $420,000 salary to attack scientists that disagree with you?” “I think in usual fashion, senator, you are distorting everything about me.” “Did you ever object to Dr. Collins’ characterization of them as fringe? Did you write back to Dr. Collins saying, ‘No, they’re not fringe, they’re esteemed scientists, and it would be beneath me to do that.’” “I did not —” “This happens all the time. You personally attack me with absolutely not a shred of evidence of anything you say. The last time we had a committee, or the time before, he was accusing me of being responsible for the death of five, four to five million people. What happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there and I have life — threats upon my life, harassment of my family. So I ask myself, why would senator want to do this? So go to Rand Paul website, and you see ‘Fire Dr. Fauci’ with a little box that says, ‘Contribute here.’ You can do $5, $10, $20, $100. So you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain.”
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci refuted claims by Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, that he was undermining scientists with opposing views.Credit
A Senate hearing on the federal government’s Covid response briefly turned into a fierce back-and-forth between Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday, the latest in a series of heated exchanges between the two men stretching back to the early days of the pandemic.
Mr. Paul accused Dr. Fauci of plotting with colleagues to undermine scientists with opposing views on the virus, something Dr. Fauci denied doing.
The senator cited an email exchange between Dr. Fauci and Francis Collins, a former director of the National Institutes of Health.
“In usual fashion, you are distorting everything about me,’’ Dr. Fauci responded. The two then spoke over each other, disputing the contents of the email chain.
Later in the hearing, Dr. Fauci said Mr. Paul was partly responsible for a surge in threats against Dr. Fauci and his family.
He said personal attacks from Republicans had put his safety and that of his family at risk. He cited reports that an armed man in Iowa had been arrested in connection with plans to kill him and other officials in Washington. Dr. Fauci also displayed a fund-raising webpage for Mr. Paul that included a “Fire Dr. Fauci” graphic.
“You are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain,” Dr. Fauci said to Mr. Paul.
Since the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Dr. Fauci has often clashed with Mr. Paul, an ophthalmologist who is not currently practicing. Their exchanges have become a common scene at Senate testimony. Mr. Paul has accused Dr. Fauci of manipulating research and of lying to the public about the origins of the virus to protect China. Dr. Fauci has denied these claims, dismissed many of Mr. Paul’s assertions as falsehoods, and has stated in a hearing that Mr. Paul did not know what he was talking about.
Mr. Paul was one of the first senators to be infected with the coronavirus in 2020, and has often criticized pandemic precautions like wearing masks. YouTube has twice suspended him from posting on their service for spreading misinformation.
Noah Weiland contributed reporting.
Source: nytimes.com
