Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci during an interview with Newsmax on Tuesday, accusing him of lying about the nature of research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) while he appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show."
In the interview, Paul addressed Fauci's recent appearance, in which Fauci denied culpability for the COVID-19 pandemic and dismissed Paul's accusations that he funded gain-of-function research, which Paul alleges led to the pandemic.
Fauci's interview included a strong denial of Paul's claims, which he labeled as "completely preposterous." The exchange between the two highlights ongoing tensions and differing viewpoints regarding the origins of the COVID-19 virus and the role of NIH-funded research.
"Even in that interview, he lied because he said they funded research that was surveillance," Paul said. "Surveillance is looking at animals to see if they have a virus. That's not what they were funding. They were funding gain-of-function research where they took one coronavirus and mixed it with another coronavirus and created a new virus that didn't exist in nature."
Paul insisted that this type of research meets the definition of gain-of-function, stating, "It was gain-of-function by any definition. Even members of the NIH are now finally admitting that it's gain-of-function, and he's still not admitting it."
Appearing on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Paul further accused Fauci of covering up the truth. "So, he is not being truthful. He's still covering up, so responsibility or culpability doesn't attach to him because he basically approved this research, and he shares some responsibility for the worldwide pandemic."
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