Rand Paul

Former Trump administration coronavirus task force member Dr. Brett Giroir told Newsmax Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci should be held accountable if congressional investigators determine he misled lawmakers and the American people about gain-of-function research linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Appearing on "National Report," Giroir said he backs the push by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to force Fauci to testify, saying Congress has a responsibility to uncover the truth about decisions that may have contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I support Sen. Paul 100%," he said. "I think transparency, openness, honesty is very important."

Giroir said he hopes Fauci willingly appears before Congress to answer questions about U.S.-funded research conducted in Wuhan, but if he refuses, Congress should move to compel his testimony.

"I would hope that Dr. Fauci … would voluntarily appear," he said. "But if he's not going to voluntarily appear, so let the subpoena happen."

Giroir, who served as the former assistant secretary for health, said lawmakers must fully understand what happened before and during the pandemic to ensure a similar scenario never happens again.

During the interview, Giroir explained that gain-of-function research involves scientists deliberately altering viruses or other microorganisms to determine whether they can become more dangerous or transmissible.

"You're making super organisms that have not been seen on Earth, and they're just a result of genetic engineering," he said.

Fauci has repeatedly maintained that the National Institutes of Health did not fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab.

Giroir challenged that claim, arguing Fauci relied on a narrow bureaucratic definition that does not reflect how most scientists and physicians view the work.

"I absolutely believe the NIH was funding what anyone would consider gain-of-function research in the Wuhan lab," he said.

According to Giroir, the research being conducted in Wuhan met the commonsense definition of gain-of-function research, regardless of how federal agencies classified it internally.

He noted that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, declined to support similar projects because officials viewed them as gain-of-function research that carried significant risks.

Asked whether Fauci would ever face accountability, Giroir said the most significant consequence would be proving he provided misleading information to Congress and the public.

"The ultimate accountability for scientists like Dr. Fauci is to be proven that he made misstatements before Congress and misled the American people," he said. "I think that would be the highest level of accountability, and, if he did so, I hope that Sen. Paul and the committee clearly uncover that."

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