WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Moreno’s sentencing. It’s scheduled for November and he faces a maximum prison sentence of five years.
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Key background
After gaining the House majority in 2023, Republicans established the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to investigate the federal government’s response to COVID-19. The panel, led by Republicans, focused heavily on the origins of the virus and ultimately determined it most likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan. The committee also scrutinized public health mandates and determined that prolonged school closures, business lockdowns, mask mandates and “6-foot” social distancing rules—heavily supported by Fauci—were scientifically unsubstantiated and economically damaging. It also questioned federal vaccine mandate policies.
TANGENT
After Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released a trove of Fauci’s personal diary entries, he was accused of manipulating Covid information and reveling in his sudden fame during the pandemic. President Donald Trump has accused Fauci of “always trying to protect China” and flip-flopping on policies like mask wearing. He was called to testify before the Senate Homeland Committee at the end of July and gave only an opening statement in which he accused Paul of an “unhinged obsession with me.” He refused to answer questions during the hearing and invoked his Fifth Amendment right over 100 times. In early August, that committee passed a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress.
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CONTRA
Democrats who held their own hearings and closed-door testimony said their investigation found evidence contrary to many of the Republican’s claims. Select Subcommittee Democrats found that Fauci did not organize a lab leak suppression campaign and did not direct NIAID staff to manipulate public media coverage of the issue.
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further reading
ForbesSenate Committee Passes Fauci Contempt Resolution—Fauci’s Lawyer Calls It ‘Meritless’By Conor MurrayForbesFauci Testimony: Rand Paul Threatens Contempt After Fauci Declines To Answer QuestionsBy Conor Murray