Joe Biden backs Dr Anthony Fauci after bombshell emails showed he knew about lab leak theory
Video shows Joe Biden had left the room when a reporter shouted a question that prompted him to pop his head back in hilariously. US President Joe Biden said he’s “very confident” in his chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, despite the release of emails that exposed Dr. Fauci’s knowledge of and efforts to tamp down the Wuhan “lab leak” theory to explain the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin.
The longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is under fire after reporting this week on an email trove acquired by news outlets using the Freedom of Information Act. The New York Post reports that Mr. Biden had left the room as a reporter shouted whether he retained confidence in Dr. Fauci. Mr. Biden appeared to be gone before he stopped the door from closing and said, “Yes, I’m very confident in Dr. Fauci.” In a show of support for Dr. Fauci, the White House also announced that he and first lady Jill Biden would visit Harlem on Sunday to promote a vaccination clinic at Abyssinian Baptist Church.
The emails revealed Dr. Fauci’s communications with the director of the Chinese CDC and with the leader of a non-profit that contracted with the Wuhan lab. They also said a prominent researcher informed him in January 2020 that they believed the virus genome had signs of lab manipulation. Peter Daszak, head of the EcoHealth Alliance, which used a $US3.4 million ($A4.4 million) grant to do research at the Wuhan lab, wrote to Dr. Fauci in April 2020 that he was thankful that he was publicly knocking the possibility of a slab leak.
“From my perspective, your comments are brave, and coming from your trusted voice, will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus’ origins,” Mr. Daszak wrote.
Dr. Fauci replied, “Many thanks for your kind note.
But in January 2020, Dr. Fauci was warned by virus researcher Kristian Anderson of the Scripps Research lab in La Jolla, California, that Covid-19 had “unusual features.”
The unusual features of the virus make up a tiny part of the genome (
Dr. Fauci previously came under fire for inconsistent public health guidance. For example, he did not promote mask-wearing in February, March, and early April 2020 as the respiratory virus spread in the US, despite the historical use of masks to counter airborne viruses and their successful early adoption in East Asia. In April 2020, Dr. Fauci emailed George Gao, head of the Chinese CDC, that “All is well despite some crazy people in this world.” but Dr. Fauci later pushed, even wearing two shows at a time.
Republicans have started a hashtag #firefauci. However, Mr. Biden appears to retain complete confidence in him for now.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission.
