Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci at a congressional hearing yesterday, his first since retiring as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in December 2022.
Casting decorum aside, Greene used her position on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to fire withering criticism at the doctor on everything from his division's grant to a Tunisian lab experimenting on dogs to the uncompromising social distancing restrictions imposed on children in school.
The congresswoman kicked off her time with a bang, asking the physician-scientist if he represented science, as many say he insinuated in remarks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You said you represent science. Do you represent science? Mr. Fauci? Yes or no. Yes or no,” Greene began, interrupting Fauci as he attempted to say that it was not a simple yes or no answer.
“I don't think it is,” Fauci continued, prompting Greene to interject, “We'll take that as a you don't know what you represent.”
“As director of the NIH, you did sign off on these so-called scientific experiments. And as a dog lover, I want to tell you this is disgusting and evil, what you signed off on,” she continued, referencing a 2021 report from the White Coat Waste Project (WCW) alleging that the doctor's division at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) partially funded animal testing on dogs at a North African lab.
At the time, a bipartisan coalition of Congress members sent a letter asking Fauci to explain himself in response to the allegations from the taxpayer watchdog group.
The WCW report stated that Tunisian scientists infected 44 beagle puppies with a parasitic disease to test the efficacy of a lymphatic filariasis vaccine. Some of the dogs allegedly had their vocal cords removed so staff wouldn't have to hear them bark.
The report derided the tests as “unecessary,” a charge amplified by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who led the push in Congress for greater accountability into what she described as a “reprehensible misuse of taxpayer funds.”
“And these experiments that happened to beagles were paid for by the American taxpayer. And I want you to know Americans don't pay their taxes for animals to be tortured like this. So the type of science that you are representing, Mr. Fauci, is abhorrent, and it needs to stop,” Rep. Greene exclaimed, further claiming that he represented “the type of science where you confess that you made up the COVID rules, including six-feet social distancing and masking of children” – an assertion the doctor adamantly denied.
“Are you saying this is fake news?” she persisted. Fauci responded, “I didn't make anything up. … I've said that it is not based in science, and it just appeared.”
“But this is science,” Greene insisted, holding up a photo of dogs being experimented on.
“What does dogs have to do with anything that we're talking about today?” Fauci shot back.
“Your scientific experiments. This is what you signed off on. But you also told the American people they had to distance by six feet. They had to wear a mask. But let's also talk a little bit further about the type of science that you represent,” the congresswoman added as the banter continued.
Breitbart's Hannah Knudsen further reports on Monday's contentious encounter:
Greene made waves in the room after refusing to refer to Fauci as doctor, stating, “Because in my time that man does not deserve to have a license.”
“As a matter of fact, it should be revoked, and he belongs in prison,” she added.
After a few minutes of back and forth among her colleagues due to her remark, Greene held up a picture of Fauci throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals baseball game during the pandemic, as he ignored the mask and distancing rules while everyone else had to stay home.
“Remember the cardboard cutout fans? That was one of the most insulting things to Americans, having to watch the games from home where you got to go and enjoy the game and sit right next to people, not following the six feet of distancing, not wearing your mask, and everyone else was forced to stay home and stop enjoying life,” she said, noting that Fauci's science was “displayed perfectly” in the picture.
“You know that what this committee should be doing? We should be recommending you to be prosecuted. We should be writing a criminal referral because you should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. You belong in prison, Dr. Fauci,” Greene concluded.
Watch the entire exchange below:
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