'That's a felony': Sen. Rand Paul says Fauci deserves prison time for lying to Congress over COVID-19 mishandling

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said history will not look fondly on Dr. Anthony Fauci for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The senator's comments were made on Monday during an interview, where he also suggested Fauci should be put behind bars for lying to Congress about the nature of the pandemic, according to Fox News Digital.

Paul said Fauci's "actions in covering up the origins of the virus will go down in history as probably one of the most egregious and infamous public health decisions in our lifetime."

"Every step of the way, Fauci has publicly protested and said ‘we never funded any gain-of-function research in Wuhan,’ but if you look at his private emails, it tells a different story," Paul added.

Research involving gain of function has to do with genetically manipulating microorganisms to give them new functions and attributes.

Some of the experiments involved in the gain-of-function research could have made the illness more transmissible.

In September 2023, National Review published a report that laid out the details of how Fauci lied to Congress about the origin of the coronavirus. In an email dated January 27, 2020, Fauci allegedly received talking points from an aide concerning Wuhan Institute of Virology research that was, at the time, being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Later that evening, Fauci gave a press conference about the emerging developments of COVID-19.

Fauci recently testified last week before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The committee is currently trying to dig up details about the specific origins of the virus.

Fox News Digital reported that the committee's chairman, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), was alarmed that Fauci seemed unable to remember important decisions that were made during the early stages of the outbreak. The illness ultimately killed 1.1 million Americans.

"Lying to Congress is a felony punishable up to five years in prison. When he came and told me that he did not find gain-of-function research and move on — that was a bald-faced lie," Paul said. "I gave him a chance to correct the record a month later when he came back to the committee, and he refused to do so."

"And to this day, he has been dissembling and really trying to point blame away from him, but that's a felony."

Fox News Digital reached out to Fauci for comment on the development.

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