Internet skeptical about Anthony Fauci and other officials facing prosecution over Covid-19 'cover-up'

WASHINGTON, DC: Federal public health officials and others implicated in concealing information about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic could face prosecution, according to Rep Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), the chairman of a special House subcommittee investigating the outbreak.

Dr Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is set to appear before the panel on Monday, June 3.

“We want the DOJ to weigh in, hopefully they can do something honestly and fairly,” Wenstrup told the New York Post on Thursday, May 30. “But at the same time, we can make criminal referrals. I think we should.”

House subcommittee on Coronavirus Pandemic recommendations and findings

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has already recommended a criminal probe of Dr Peter Daszak, president of Manhattan-based EcoHealth Alliance. This organization received millions in US grants that helped fund experiments on modified bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The panel has uncovered significant information about the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the failures of the US pandemic response, and taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China — the city where the virus emerged more than four years ago.

“The work they were doing was risky,” Wenstrup noted regarding the Wuhan experiments. “You can see through reverse engineering that it was capable of creating something like Covid-19.”

“I started looking at this when we were in lockdown in 2020, through the [House] Intelligence Committee, and what creating a chimera was all about, and what gain-of-function research was about, and it kind of frightened me as far as bioweapons and that’s a new threat going into the future,” Wenstrup, who is also a doctor and retired US Army colonel, added.

A trove of emails obtained by the subcommittee has further implicated Fauci and his former senior adviser at NIAID, Dr David Morens.

In these communications, Morens admitted to using a private account to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests about EcoHealth’s Wuhan grant and claimed he deleted related records, allegedly assisting Fauci through a “secret back channel.”

“At one point, Dr. Morens said that he never talked to Tony Fauci about the Wuhan Institute of Virology and EcoHealth Alliance,” Wenstrup stated, referencing Morens’ congressional testimony on May 22. Morens confirmed the emails were sent but dismissed them as “jokes.”

Wenstrup emphasized, “But he did do that, and we have the proof of that now, and he talks about how he did.” Morens handed over more than 30,000 records, revealing discussions about high-level efforts to hide and allegedly destroy records critical to the investigation into COVID-19's origins.

Anthony Fauci’s involvement and testimony

Fauci, 83, denied specific interactions with Daszak before the pandemic and claimed no “back-and-forth discussions” with EcoHealth’s president. However, the Morens emails contradict these statements, showing Fauci expressed “concern” for Daszak and the suspension of EcoHealth’s research grant.

“Peter, from Tony’s numerous recent comments to me, and from what Francis has been vocal about over the past 5 days, they are trying to protect you, which also protects their own reputations,” Morens wrote to Daszak on October 25, 2021, shortly after a National Institutes of Health (NIH) official disclosed to Congress that EcoHealth violated its grant terms for WIV.

“I had face-to-face meetings with Tony to discuss science issues,” Morens said in a November 18, 2021, email. “He asked how Peter was doing, as he often does, and seemed to commiserate with him to a degree.”

Wenstrup stated the subcommittee had numerous questions for Fauci and has requested his private email and cell phone records. The congressman noted that he has not seen “nearly any evidence” that the coronavirus emerged from nature, adding, “there’s a lot we’ll never know because of the Chinese.”

After assuming chairmanship of the subcommittee, Wenstrup received a letter from the Chinese embassy in Washington expressing “grave concerns” about investigating the origins of Covid-19.

Fauci acknowledged that the lab leak theory was not a “conspiracy” despite promoting a scientific paper in February 2020 to disprove it, which he later cited in a White House press briefing.

“I don’t know that anyone in the White House or in the general public knew that he had coordinated to have that paper written,” Wenstrup pointed out. Fauci testified that he “never looked at any of the scientific research and papers that talked about how this could be made in a lab.”

“We were learning some through intelligence that has been declassified,” he added. “They had problems with leaks and the type of work that the Chinese government was doing, as well as what EcoHealth Alliance was doing — and we were funding it.”

House subcommittee chairman calls for 'higher standard'

Wenstrup remains skeptical that the US could definitively prove the origins of Covid-19 without Chinese cooperation. However, he advocates for harsher penalties for public health officials who breach protocols.

“I’m a soldier, served 25 years,” Wenstrup, who received a Bronze Star for his work as a combat surgeon during the Iraq War, said. He argued for higher standards in federal agencies, noting that military branches under the Pentagon have stringent ethical standards.

“I think we have to set a higher standard for people that work within our agencies,” Wenstrup affirmed. “They may have standards on paper, but what happens when you don’t adhere to them?”

“In this case, with Dr Fauci, he didn’t seem to have much oversight over the billions of dollars that he was OKing to go out the door,” he added.

Netizens express frustration over perceived lack of accountability for Anthony Fauci

Social media has been abuzz with reactions, many expressing frustration over the perceived lack of accountability for Fauci.

"We 'the people' want to see the consequences and all those criminals to pay in jail," one posted on X.

"Always a Fraudci - take away his pension. He made more than enough with his Moderna royalties," another fumed.

"Republicans never follow through, don't worry Fauci," a comment read.

"He keeps testifying for what reason???? No one will charge him!!!!!" someone else wrote.

"Can’t wait to see another sternly worded letter. That’s what justice for starting and covering up a global pandemic should look like!" another added sarcastically.

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