The Wednesday Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing with former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci went as expected. Fauci pled the Fifth; Democrat committee members decried the waste of time and ran cover for Fauci, and Republicans were able to make their speeches and underscore the evidence against the not-so-good doctor, and the lies and contradictions which he upheld as "The Science." This evidence and these contradictions were reinforced by the Monday release of Fauci's personal diary that he composed using government property/systems. Despite his efforts to "burn bag" this information, once it was placed on government servers, it no longer belonged to him. For a purportedly smart man, this wasn't a very smart decision.
Read More: Fauci Finally Faces Congress - and Immediately Pleads the Fifth
'My God. Horrendous.' – This Devastating X Thread Just Shredded Whatever's Left of Fauci's Legacy
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) no doubt knew that Fauci would plead the Fifth, which is why his opening statement laid out his case in a clear and cogent fashion linking Fauci to gain-of-function research, the Wuhan Lab, as well as his lies before Congress denying any knowledge of a link to both. Paul also pointed out the egregious influence Fauci had in the lockdowns and other crimes resultant from the COVID-19 pandemic. Influence that he furthered with the help of a complicit media who fawned over him and parroted his every word and diktat.
Sen. Paul said:
"But officials across the country invoked your authority to justify these decisions. And you presented your recommendations not as judgments open to debate, but as dictates of science itself. Your own words demonstrate that you understood the influence you exercised.
"On March 14, 2020, you wrote that the task force recommendations were driven by me, yourself, Deb, and CDC. The next day you wrote that you had convinced Mayor Bill de Blasio to close the New York city schools, so you were involved. That same night, Governor Gavin Newsom's Chief of Staff told you that the governor had decided to close California's schools, bars, and restaurants after watching you on television. Presidents, governors, mayors, school boards, corporations, and Congress all bear responsibility for the decisions they made. The COVID lockdown, however, could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime.
"Children lost education, small businesses built over a lifetime disappeared. Patients delayed cancer screenings and other medical care. Families were separated from dying relatives. Workers were ordered to accept a medical procedure or lose their jobs. Worship assembly, employment, education, and travel were restricted in the name of science. While you did not impose every restriction, you used your authority to justify them."
WATCH:
Sen. Rand Paul to Anthony Fauci:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"The COVID lockdown could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime.
Children lost years of education, small businesses built over a lifetime disappeared, patients delayed cancer screenings and other medical care,… pic.twitter.com/ZY1XCkqvHb
However, it is Paul's detailing of Fauci's lies surrounding the Wuhan Lab, the link that precipitated this chain of horrors, that was particularly noteworthy. In prior testimony, Fauci dismissed the claim that the Wuhan Lab was responsible for the leak and spread of COVID-19, and even influenced a paper to reinforce this falsehood. Fauci also denied in testimony that he had any hand in the furtherance of gain-of-function research.
Paul said, "It made your categorical, public denials indefensible."
WATCH:
🚨Sen. Rand Paul details one of MANY lies Anthony Fauci told the public:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"On May 11, 2021, you told the Senate the NIH has never, ever, and does not now fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. When I gave you the opportunity to correct the… pic.twitter.com/WCx7if7vlf
Sen. Rand Paul details one of MANY lies Anthony Fauci told the public:
On May 11, 2021, you told the Senate the NIH has "never, ever, and does not now fund gain-of-function research" in Wuhan at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. When I gave you the opportunity to correct the record to reconsider the statement, you responded that you had never before lied to Congress.
We were then told that only the government's narrowest regulation of definition counted here. That you could define gain-of-function in one way in which this was not gain-of-function, in which all of the common sense of the world be thrown out all of the idea that the mice were dying, and the virus was more transmissible, didn't matter because you had a technical definition that allowed you to fund it.
But the real question is, was it dangerous? Was it a wise decision to fund this? And you haven't deviated from that. You've never admitted that it could have been a mistake, funding this research in China.
The American people weren't asking for a semantics debate over what is gain-of-function, they were asking, does common sense say this research was dangerous in Wuhan? They wanted to know whether their money funded experiments in Wuhan that made bad coronaviruses better able to infect humans. The answer is, "Yes!" They wanted to know whether NIAID adequately supervised their work. The answer is, "No!"
I would say 75 percent of the questions asked by the Republicans involved the Wuhan Lab, along with personal testimony from the committee members on how COVID and Fauci's Pandemic Plot adversely affected them, their loved ones, and the constituents they served.
This is the information that requires recording and documentation, because it has been mostly swept under the rug. The legacy media and public health officials who were complicit in this nightmare wish for everyone to move on and forget this happened. But like the Nuremberg Trials and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a record is necessary in order to begin accountability. Because despite people and their naysaying, a price will be paid; it just might not be paid in the forms they think.
This week, it has been Fauci's vaunted reputation and supposed 50-year sterling career which has been bulldozed. But Paul is also setting up something larger than this. He is many things, but Paul is not one to simply grandstand for the sake of grandstanding. What was immediately accomplished by this hearing is that Fauci was not only silenced (by his own mouth) from bloviating more lies and falsehoods, but his prior lies, falsehoods, and contradictions were placed on full display, juxtaposed by the released diary entries which further confirmed he was not acting in anyone's best interest but his own.
Constitutional attorney Jonathan Turley did an X live thread of the hearing, and from his legal perspective, he detailed how Paul was doing exactly what was stated above.
Sen Rand Paul is systematically laying out the case of Fauci's record of contradictions and duplicity. I previously noted that what was most disturbing about Fauci's record was his silence as the media and academic groups attacked scientists who raised doubts about the origin…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 29, 2026
Sen Rand Paul is systematically laying out the case of Fauci's record of contradictions and duplicity. I previously noted that what was most disturbing about Fauci's record was his silence as the media and academic groups attacked scientists who raised doubts about the origin theories and COVID measures. They were fired or removed from positions despite being later vindicated. Fauci, who was clearly obsessed with his own fame, said nothing to defend such dissenters...
Turley also affirmed:
...The new evidence shows a striking disconnect between what Fauci was saying publicly and what he was saying privately, including in his own diary entries. It also shows a disturbing level of coordination with media figures in maintaining the public narrative...
Paul concluded his opening statement with these powerful words:
"It is secrecy that destroys trust. It is arrogance that destroys trust. It is censorship that destroys trust. And it is the refusal to admit error that destroys trust. That loss of trust may be your most damaging legacy."
Paul is playing the long game, and the American people should be thankful that, though we may wish to forget that three-plus-year period of horror, he understands we cannot simply forgive and forget. Accountability must be demanded, and that is within Congress's power to do so.
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