Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., expressed concern about Dr. Anthony Fauci's pivotal decision to fund potentially dangerous research in Wuhan, China, asserting that Fauci's approval to bypass safety protocols led to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This research never went before there, and the only reason it never went before that safety committee is Anthony Fauci had to have given permission to bypass it," Paul said Wednesday on Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
Paul said the decision to fund the research in Wuhan circumvented the P3CO safety committee, which was established to assess the "safety of pandemic pathogens." Paul highlighted the lack of transparency regarding the internal deliberations on gain-of-function research safety, saying the information has been sought for "three years."
"This will be recorded as one of the worst decisions ever made by a public official," Paul said, blaming Fauci's approval to channel funds to Wuhan.
Paul also questioned Fauci's alleged visits to the CIA and the agency's role in dismissing the lab-origin theory. A whistleblower revealed that CIA scientists voted in favor of the virus originating from the Wuhan lab, only to be overruled.
Paul suggested that Fauci may have influenced this decision during undisclosed meetings at the CIA.
"Origin for the virus was most likely that COVID-19 came from the lab in Wuhan," Paul said. "They were overruled by other people at the CIA. We believe that Fauci was meeting at the CIA, that it wasn't recorded in the visitor logs, and that he was influential in reversing the scientists' decision. If this is true, he's going to need to come clean with it."
Expressing frustration with the lack of Democrat scrutiny, Paul attributed it to the party's trust in centralized planning and a reluctance to question Fauci's role. Paul argued that acknowledging Fauci's mistakes would mean admitting that millions may have died due to the funding of risky research in China, an authoritarian regime.
Despite raising these concerns, Paul emphasized the ongoing risk, stating that gain-of-function research continues in at least 12 U.S. labs. He expressed uncertainty about the safety protocols in place and the potential for researchers to spread infections unknowingly.
"I wasn't aware that gain-of-function was effectively banned in this country… it's still happening here inside the United States," Paul said, urging a reevaluation of research protocols. He said that although funding to the Wuhan lab has ceased funding to other U.S. labs continues, danger remains.
"There is gain-of-function research and at least a dozen different labs. We're compiling a list of these labs, but the thing is, it's dangerous whether it's in China or not," he said.
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