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Rand Paul says new documents prove Fauci lied before Congress: 'He needs to be held accountable'
Photo (left): JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images; Photo (right): Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images

Rand Paul says new documents prove Fauci lied before Congress: 'He needs to be held accountable'

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said that new documents bolster his accusations that Dr. Anthony Fauci lied to Congress about funding gain-of-function viral research in China.

Fauci, the nation's leading epidemiologist, famously denied the allegation by Paul and others that the National Institutes of Health funded the controversial research that might have led to the global pandemic, yelling, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Newly published documents obtained by The Intercept appeared to show that Fauci was less than truthful about the claims.

"I have already asked the DOJ to review Fauci's testimony for lying to Congress. This report should make it abundantly clear that he needs to be held accountable," tweeted Paul in reference to the revelations.

Paul had famously butted heads with Fauci over the issue of gain-of-function funding during his testimony before the Senate Health Committee in July.

When Paul asked Fauci to retract his comments denying the funding, Fauci argued that the program he oversaw did not technically qualify as gain-of-function.

"Sen. Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially," said Fauci at the time. "You do not know what you are talking about."

The new documents obtained by The Intercept through a Freedom of Information Act request show that the Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment was awarded a grant from Fauci's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases through EcoHealth Alliance.

A summary of the research from The Intercept matches the description of gain-of-function:

The bat coronavirus grant provided the EcoHealth Alliance with a total of $3.1 million, including $599,000 that the Wuhan Institute of Virology used in part to identify and alter bat coronaviruses likely to infect humans. Even before the pandemic, many scientists were concerned about the potential dangers associated with such experiments. The grant proposal acknowledges some of those dangers: "Fieldwork involves the highest risk of exposure to SARS or other CoVs, while working in caves with high bat density overhead and the potential for fecal dust to be inhaled."

Dr. Richard Ebright, a Rutgers University molecular biologist, reviewed the documents and concluded that Fauci lied about the research.

"The documents make it clear that assertions by the NIH Director, Francis Collins, and the NIAID Director, Anthony Fauci, that the NIH did not support gain-of-function research or potential pandemic pathogen enhancement at WIV are untruthful," Ebright said.

Paul had already criminally previously referred Fauci in July to the Department of Justice for a possible prosecution.

"Surprise surprise - Fauci lied again," Paul tweeted earlier Tuesday. "And I was right about his agency funding novel Coronavirus research at Wuhan."

Here's more about the accusations against Fauci:

Kilmeade: It appears Anthony Fauci lied under oathwww.youtube.com

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