Josh Hawley Demands Dr. Fauci Resign and Face a Congressional Inquiry After Internal Documents Further Contradict ‘Gain-of-Function’ Research Denials

U.S. Sen Josh Hawley took aim today at Dr. Anthony Fauci after internal documents further contradict “gain-of-function” research denials made by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director.

Hawley tweeted, “Anthony Fauci has repeatedly and deliberately mislead Congress and the American people. Resign. And face a congressional inquiry.”

Anthony Fauci has repeatedly and deliberately mislead Congress and the American people. Resign. And face a congressional inquiry https://t.co/o8Bxfvb8jt

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 7, 2021

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also reacted to the report and said in a tweet, “It’s no wonder Joe Biden canceled an independent investigation of COVID-19 origins… every time we see documents it becomes more and more obvious the pro-Biden public health bureaucracy misled Americans about ‘gain of function’ research in the Wuhan lab.”

It’s no wonder Joe Biden canceled an independent investigation of COVID-19 origins… every time we see documents it becomes more and more obvious the pro-Biden public health bureaucracy misled Americans about ‘gain of function’ research in the Wuhan lab

— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) September 7, 2021

The newly released documents appear to contradict Fauci’s repeated claims that the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

Work of EcoHealth Alliance, an American research non-profit which used NIH funding to research novel bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab, is detailed in the internal documents.

A previously unpublished EcoHealth Alliance grant proposal filed with the NIAID is among the documents, which were obtained by The Intercept through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The stunning revelation includes that the proposal requests $3.1 million for a project titled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence,” which involved screening thousands of lab workers for novel bat coronaviruses.

The grant was suspended by the Trump administration after being awarded for five years, from 2014 to 2019 and directs $599,000 of the total grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for research designed to make the viruses more dangerous and/or infectious, despite its author acknowledging the danger associated with such work.

“Fieldwork involves the highest risk of exposure to SARS or other CoVs, while working in caves with high bat density overhead and the potential for fecal dust to be inhaled,” the proposal read.

Gary Ruskin, executive director of a group probing COVID’s origins called U.S. Right to Know, told The Intercept that after reviewing the documents, the grant was a “road map to the high-risk research that could have led to the current pandemic.”

Fauci recently told CNN’s Jim Acosta, “One of the enemies of public health is disinformation and unfortunately, we do see that in some quarters.”

NEW – Dr. Fauci: "One of the enemies of public health is disinformation."pic.twitter.com/nws1tLirIY

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 7, 2021