Rivalry Between Fauci, Republicans Continues With Arguments About COVID-19 Origins
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Dr. Anthony Fauci's rivalry with Republicans continued Tuesday in the form of tense exchanges between he, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) over COVID-19.
Picking up where they left off in previous arguments about COVID-19 origins, Paul cited emails that he said proved Fauci moved to suppress scientists early in the pandemic who supported the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic began with a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China. Fauci accused Paul of distorting the facts, and said Paul's continued criticism of him "kindles the crazies out there, and I have threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children." Separately, Marshall noted how Fauci is the government's highest-paid employee and asked if he'd be "willing to submit to Congress and the public a financial disclosure" detailing his investment history; Fauci said that info was already "public knowledge" and could be produced upon request.
Coverage from left-rated outlets often highlighted how Fauci accused Paul of enabling harassment of his family. Reports from right-rated sources focused on the narrative that Fauci lied about the U.S. role in controversial Chinese virus research and the lab leak theory. Some also highlighted how Fauci called Morgan a moron. One writer for Washington Post (Lean Left bias) echoed Fauci's claim that Paul and Marshall politicized the moment, noting how congressional oversight is "only as good as the people elected to Congress." One writer for Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) argued that Fauci made himself unlikable with inconsistent pandemic messaging.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Fauci says Sen. Paul's attacks 'kindle the crazies' who have threatened his lifeWASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, sparred with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., at a hearing Tuesday after Paul attacked him for appearing to disagree with scientists who said the coronavirus originated in a lab in China.
"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 threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children, with obscene phone calls because people are lying...
From the Left
Fauci accuses Rand Paul of using pandemic for "political gain"NIAID director Anthony Fauci, in a fiery exchange with Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday, accused the Kentucky senator of "making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain."
Driving the news: "In usual fashion, senator, you are distorting everything about me," Fauci said, responding to repeated attacks by Paul during a hearing before the Senate's health panel on the federal response to COVID-19 variants.
Fauci suggested that Paul's repeated attacks on him have led to "threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children with obscene phone calls because people...
From the Right
Rand Paul Grills Dr. Fauci For Trying To Suppress Lab-Leak TheoryWhite House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul engaged in yet another explosive exchange at a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky were testifying before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 response. Paul began to ask Fauci why he had attempted to suppress the lab-leak theory by dismissing the work of various scientists who were exploring the possibility, and Fauci got fired up in response.
“I think, in usual fashion,...
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