In ‘Damning’ Capitol Hill Testimony, Scientists Contradict Fauci’s Claim That NIH Never Funded Gain-Of-Function Research

During a congressional hearing examining the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and gain-of-function research, multiple scientist witnesses contradicted Dr. Anthony Fauci’s claim that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) never funded gain of function research.

“The statements made on repeated occasions to the public, to the press and to policymakers by the NIAID director, Dr. Fauci, have been untruthful. I do not understand why those statements are being made because they are demonstrably false,” Rutgers University microbiologist Dr. Richard Ebright said Wednesday, responding to a question from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Wednesday afternoon that this contradiction, backed by the other witnesses, was the most “damning” thing to come out of Wednesday’s hearing — the first hearing examining the role of gain-of-function research (a process in which researchers may stitch viruses together to make a “chimeric” virus for the purpose of studying a response).