Dr. Anthony Fauci told representatives at a GOP-led House subcommittee hearing Monday morning that he and his family have been harassed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There have been credible death threats leading to the arrests of two individuals … And it’s required my having protective services essentially all the time. It is very troublesome to me,” Fauci said, adding “It is much more troublesome because they’ve involved my wife and my three daughters.”
Fauci was responding to Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who asked Fauci to describe threats he’s faced. She suggested the threats were the result of predominantly Republican accusations that Fauci improperly influenced scientists researching where the virus originated. They have also alleged some of Fauci’s former aides at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tried to evade public records laws.
The hearing was the latest effort among Republicans to question the U.S. response to the pandemic, including how pandemic prevention plans were created and communicated.
Monday’s session was in part focused on the origins of the pandemic and the nation’s role in virus research in China. There are a number of theories about how COVID’s spread began, including a natural jump from animals to humans and a laboratory leak. Intelligence assessments on the origin of the virus are inconclusive.
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