Fauci says he never musty inner most e-mail for alternate applications

I now recognize Doctor Fauci to give an opening statement. Mr. chairman, Ranking Member Ruiz, members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify. Prior.

To my retirement from federal service in December 2022, I had been at the NIH for 54 years and director of NIAID for more than 38 years. In those posts, I was deeply involved in the scientific and public health response to several infectious diseases outbreaks,.

Including HIV, Aids, pandemic flu, Ebola, and Zika. And so under my leadership, we were well positioned to respond to Covid 19. For at least two decades prior to the Covid outbreak, we at NIAID had invested billions of dollars.

In research on mRNA technology and Immunogen design, both of which led to the swift development of Covid vaccines. Less than 11 months after the identification of this new virus, safe and highly effective.

Vaccines were widely available and unprecedented accomplishment in the history of vaccinology that saved tens of millions of lives worldwide. I will now use my remaining time to directly address certain issues that have been seriously.

Distorted concerning me. The first issue concerns my actions regarding the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 might have resulted from a lab leak. On January 31st, 2020, I was informed through phone calls with Jeremy Farrar, then director of the Wellcome.

Trust in the UK, and then with Christian Anderson, a highly regarded scientist at Scripps Research Institute, that they and Eddie Holmes, a world class evolutionary biologist from Australia, were concerned that the genomic sequence.

Of SARS-CoV-2 suggested that the virus could have been manipulated in the lab. I participated in a conference call the next day with about a dozen international virologists to discuss this possibility versus a spillover from an animal reservoir.

The discussion was lively, with arguments for both possibilities. Two participants have testified before this subcommittee that I did not try to steer the discussion in any direction. It was decided that several participants would more carefully examine.

The genomic sequence after this further examination. Several who at first were concerned about lab manipulation became convinced that the virus was not deliberately manipulated. They concluded that.

The most likely scenario was the spillover from an animal reservoir, although they still kept an open mind. They appropriately published their opinion in the peer reviewed literature. The accusation being circulated that I influenced these scientists.

To change their minds by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money is absolutely false and simply preposterous. I had no input into the content of the published paper. The second issue is a false accusation that I tried to cover up the possibility.

That the virus originated from a lab. In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite. I now quote from an email that I sent to Professor Farrar on February 1st, 2020. Quote. Jeremy,.

I just got off the phone to Christian Andersen and he related to me his concern about the furin site mutation in the spike protein of the virus. I told him that as soon as possible, he and Eddie Holmes should get a group of evolutionary biologists.

Together to carefully examine the data to determine if his concerns are validated, and they should report it to the appropriate authorities. I would imagine that in the USA this would be the FBI, and in the UK it would be MI5. In the meantime, I will alert my U.S.

Government official colleagues of my conversation with you and Christian and determine what further investigation they recommend. Let us stay in touch. Best regards, Tony. Unquote. It is inconceivable that anyone who reads.

This email could conclude that I was trying to cover up the possibility of a lab leak. I have always kept an open mind to the different possibilities. Another issue is that of Doctor David Moran's, who has the title of senior advisor to the NIAID director.

And who recently began, has been investigated for conduct unbecoming a government official. Naturally, given his title, a connection is made to me with respect to his recent testimony. Before this subcommittee, I knew nothing of Doctor.

Moran's actions regarding Doctor Daszak. EcoHealth, or his emails. It is important to point out for the record that despite his title, and even though he was helpful to me in writing scientific papers, Doctor Moran's was not an adviser to me.

On institute policy or other substantive issues at NIH. We had weekly executive committee meetings of the institute leadership and daily morning meetings of my immediate staff. And to the best of my recollection, he attended neither of these.

Furthermore, his office is located in a different building from that of the NIH. The director. Finally, in a majority Staff Memorandum of May 22nd, 2024, there was a statement, quote, doctor Fauci may have conducted.

Official business via personal email, unquote. Let me state for the record that to the best of my knowledge, I have never conducted official business using my personal email. Thank you for listening. I would be happy to address these and any other issues.

In the discussion period.

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