House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) acknowledged Saturday that Republicans are building their case against the retired Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Interviewed by journalist Benny Johnson, the representative said that Congress could issue a criminal referral against the infectious disease expert. There is, however, a catch.
The referral would go to President Joe Biden’s Justice Department. As Jordan explained, “I don’t know that — they’re going to pursue that, but you can definitely do that.”
He admitted that he would rather simply have Fauci return to Congress to answer more questions. But House Republicans continue to build their case or, as the chairman described it, are “laying the foundation.”
#3 Jim Jordan breaks down how Dr. Anthony Fauci funded gain-of-function research; and how Fauci's emails indicate his distress when he learned that COVID-19 might have originated from his funding of the Wuhan lab, as well as his efforts to conceal the situation. pic.twitter.com/9usUvFPhXZ
— kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 6, 2023
Last week, Jordan blasted Fauci in the new House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic for dismissing the lab-leak COVID-19 origin theory. This theory has gained wide acceptance and even former critics are acknowledging its plausibility.
There are many in Congress who believe that the doctor’s ties to controversial “gain-of-function” research led to the Wuhan lab denial.
Jordan also remains unconvinced of Fauci’s innocence. “I do think Dr. Fauci and the CDC changed the definition of gain-of-function research, so that Fauci has, like, this wiggle room, but they were juicing up this virus, no doubt about it.”
Fauci ridiculed calls for his prosecution in a weekend interview with Newsweek. “There’s no response to that craziness,” he declared.
He added, “I wish I could figure out what the heck they’re talking about. I think they’re just going off the deep end. It just doesn’t make any sense to say something like that, and it actually is irresponsible.”
It does make sense to many in Washington, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). The Republican charged recently that no one has done more damage to the public’s trust in the scientific and medical community than Fauci.
Cruz noted that “in any sane system he would be prosecuted for lying under oath, and he would go to jail for lying under oath to Congress.”
That possibility remains a longshot as long as the Biden administration is in charge of the Justice Department. Only a change at the top is likely to bring the needed accountability to those who brazenly misled the American public during the worst days of the pandemic.
