Fauci in the hot seat

“This might be the most insane hearing that I have ever attended,” freshman Representative Robert Garcia quipped during today’s hearing featuring former head of the NIAID Dr. Anthony Fauci – the first time that “America’s Doctor” testified publicly in Congress since leaving government service.

Fauci, who played a dominant role in dictating public health policy across multiple presidential administrations, appeared diminutive in both his physical stature and in addressing the role he played as America grappled with a once-in-a lifetime pandemic. Fauci repeatedly shifted blame to other government agencies for policies and proffered a definition of gain-of-function research that would exempt him from any blame for funding such research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The hearing itself was interrupted on multiple occasions by the arrest of at least one protester and by repeated inquiries about whether Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was out of order in refusing to refer to Fauci as a “doctor,” right before she told him that he should be prosecuted, thrown in prison and that he committed “crimes against humanity.”

Right off the bat, Fauci sounded terse in his interactions with the subcommittee’s chairman, Representative Brad Wenstrup. Immediately following Wenstrup’s routine questions, Democrats set out to ensure Fauci’s feelings weren’t hurt too badly and to portray him as sympathetically as possible. In turn, Fauci’s mood improved as the hearing went on, with him cracking jokes on multiple occasions, assuring Americans tuning in that he was not “parachuted into the CIA like Jason Bourne [to tell] the CIA that they should really not be talking about a lab leak.”

Back in January, Fauci sat before the subcommittee for a fourteen-hour closed-door transcribed interview, during which Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks told The Spectator that Democrats “fawned” over Fauci. Today’s behavior was no different – in fact, it may have been even more audacious. 

Representative Debbie Dingell asked Fauci about the myriad of death threats he’s been subjected to, Representative Kathy Castor told him that “we owe you a debt of gratitude” and Representative Jamie Raskin said that Fauci “is not a comic-book super villain” or a “convicted felon,” although Raskin speculated that Fauci may “probably wish you were a convicted felon,” invoking the conviction of former president Donald Trump and how Republicans defended him thereafter. After the hearing, Dingell, who said she has known Fauci for longer than either would care to admit, gave the doctor a hug.

Not a single Democrat during the hearing laid blame at the feet of the Chinese Communist Party for the now-widely accepted theory that the pandemic escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In fact, during his closing statement, the subcommittee’s top Democrat, Representative Raul Ruiz, said he will spend the remainder of his time in the 118th Congress to determine where the pandemic emerged from. Ruiz made no mention of what further evidence he needed to make up his mind.

When the hearing was in normal order, Fauci was pressed on everything from how his top allies improperly deleted their emails to funding of gain-of-function research to the science behind school closures. With these three topics, and others, Fauci dodged quite artfully. 

Did Dr. David Morens, who worked closely with Fauci, inappropriately delete his emails? “I knew nothing” of that, Fauci said. Did Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases fund gain-of-function in Wuhan via EcoHealth Alliance, which is in the process of being debarred by the Biden administration? “The broad definition of gain-of-function, in my mind, is not applicable here, and does nothing but confuse the situation,” he said. Finally, where did the guidance on six feet of separation come from? “The CDC’s decision, it was their decision to make and they made it,” he said, adding that it “is not appropriate” for him to publicly challenge recommendations put out by a sister agency.

Today’s hearing featured several made-for-TV moments, but also showcased Fauci’s desire to minimize his role in some of the most consequential public health decisions in recent memory. Were it not for then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy creating this temporary committee in 2023, Americans may never have had the opportunity to hear from the unelected bureaucrat who once governed vast swathes of public policy — not that he admitted to such today.

-Matthew Foldi

On our radar

TRUMP RISING Former president Donald Trump has raised more than $200 million since his conviction on falsifying business records, according to his son, Eric Trump. The younger Trump claimed that about $70 million of that came from small-dollar donors and that 30 percent of Trump donors have no prior political activity. 

PIPPED TO THE POST Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee is leaving her position after four and a half years as the paper has seen a decline in readership and serious financial troubles. Matt Murray from the Wall Street Journal will fill Buzbee’s role until the November election, then Robert Winnett from the Telegraph Media Group will take over. 

PRIDE AND KILLJOY Philadelphia’s annual Pride event saw some chaos as pro-Palestinian protesters blocked the route of the LGBTQ+ activists marching in the parade. The confrontation ended peacefully but not without hurt feelings on both sides. 

Hunter in court for gun trial 

Jury selection began for Hunter Biden’s gun trial today. Around 250 Delaware residents have been summoned. They’ll be whittled down to a panel of twelve with four alternates. A handful have already been dismissed over concerns about impartiality.

First Lady Jill Biden celebrated her seventy-third birthday today by supporting her stepson Hunter in court. “Happy birthday,” Hunter said to Jill as she walked in, the Washington Post reported. “I got you a special event.” Happy birthday, indeed.

There is a lot to unpack when it comes to the disaster of Hunter Biden’s private life — but this case specifically addresses an incident when he bought a gun in 2018 and claimed that he was not using drugs at the time. All evidence points to the fact that he was. According to his own published memoir, he was in the middle of a “full-blown addiction” to crack at the time. There are “sharp” disagreements over evidence, but it seems pretty clear cut that Hunter lied on his background check to purchase the firearm.

The question is, why is this case coming to light just now? Police got involved in the case when Hunter’s then-paramour, Hallie Biden (yes, Beau’s widow), angrily threw the gun in a grocery store dumpster. Hunter berated Hallie over text for the “reckless” move and, in a bid to get the gun back, Hallie told the store owner what had happened. At that time, federal officials opted not to charge Hallie with stealing the firearm. However, when a separate team of investigators started probing Hunter’s alleged tax evasion, the uncovered the gun incident and connected it to his illicit drug use at the time. 

–Ella Johnson

Stormy: Melania should leave Donald 

Stormy Daniels has given her first post-Trump trial interview — in which she suggests the former president should be  “sentenced to jail and some community service working for the less fortunate, or being the volunteer punching bag at a women’s shelter.”

Daniels spoke to British tabloid the Sunday Mirror, and describes how “being in court was so intimidating with the jurors looking at you.” She brands Trump “an orange stain that will be on me for a very long time. It’s like a scarlet letter, but worse.”

She also reiterates to the paper’s US editor Christopher Bucktin, “I was telling the truth that I was not paid for sex. It was not a prostitution job. I was not an escort. I was not a prostitute. It was consensual.”

Bucktin says of Daniels, “Speaking to her, it is clear the adult star’s story is a testament to the power of resilience and the impact one individual can have in the fight against corruption and abuse of power… She speaks with a depth of knowledge on a wide range of topics, including US politics, displaying a level of insight that challenges the thoughts often associated with her profession.”

And Daniels has advice for Melania Trump, the woman she cuckqueaned: “I don’t know what their agreement may or may not be, but Melania needs to leave him. Not because of what he did with me or other women but because he is a convicted felon.”

–Cockburn