MAGA Congresswoman and care researcher Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday turned Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony in the House of Representatives into an anomalous spectacle when she pointedly refused to call the former White House leading medical adviser a “doctor” and demanded that he be prosecuted for “crimes against humanity. “
The Capitol Hill hearing, which was Fauci’s first public appearance since retiring in late 2022, was organized through a House subcommittee investigating the U. S. reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and the origins of the virus. Just before his appearance, the panel released transcripts. of his 2 p. m. closed-door testimony in January, in which he said he didn’t believe the “lab leak” theory was a conspiracy theory, but maintained that the virus had arisen naturally.
Greene, who has long been an outspoken opponent of COVID vaccines and described the pandemic as a “manufactured plague,” began to wonder about Fauci by attributing to him the “approval” of dogs for medical experiments, falsely claiming that he had done so as director of the National Institute. Institutes of Health (Fauci was in the past director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).
“As a dog lover, I have to tell you that this is disgusting and evil,” Greene exclaimed, brandishing disturbing photographs of dogs involved in experiments. “So the kind of science you represent, Mr. Fauci, is hateful!And this will have to stop. The Georgian lawmaker, who was fined several times during the pandemic for not wearing a mask in the House, continued to reject the infectious disease specialist’s credentials.
While holding a Daily Mail headline, he claimed that Fauci once admitted to “making up” COVID rules about social distancing and young people wearing face masks, prompting him to backtrack.
“I never said I made it up,” Fauci said. I said it wasn’t based on science and it just came up. “Early in his testimony, Fauci noted that this was due to his closed-door testimony, while also noting that the rules come from the Centers for Disease Control.
Once again, Greene brandished the beagle symbol while laughing covertly, “but that’s science,” causing Fauci to exclaim, “What do dogs have to do with everything we’re talking about today?”
After turning to reports that the NIH had earned $710 million in royalties from pharmaceutical corporations since the start of the pandemic, Greene questioned whether this was “appropriate” for the medical community. “Do other Americans deserve to be mistreated in this way?””, Mr. Fauci? Because it’s not, doctor. You are Mr. Fauci in my few minutes,” he added. “No, I don’t want your answer. “
At this point, Democrats at the hearing had demanded a point of order from Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), the committee’s chairman.
“In terms of property regulations, are we allowed to deny that a doctor is a doctor just because we don’t need him to be a doctor?” asked Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).
“Yes, because in my day this guy didn’t deserve to have a license!” Green replied. In fact, they will ignore him and his position will be in prison!
After Wenstrup ordered Greene to speak with Fauci as a doctor, other Democrats wondered aloud if “this is where we’re moving towards,” only for the pro-Trump congresswoman to mention a fellow Democrat’s past invocation of the notorious Tuskegee experiments.
“You know, we can hear about poor men who have been injected with syphilis because I understand you in that sense. It’s horrible,” Greene said, though it’s unclear if even Alidea Fauci was involved in the 1930s studies. And this administration that does things like this to Americans has no decorum toward the American people. “
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), who lost either parent to COVID and praised Fauci for his policies, said it was “completely unacceptable” to deny a “respected” member of the medical network his degree, only for Greene to scoff. that Fauci is “not respected. “
After Wenstrup reminded Greene to call Fauci “doctor,” the MP shouted, “I’m getting my time back” before the president read House regulations on decorum asking members to refrain from non-public attacks. Garcia and others countered that his lyrics were also removed, prompting Greene to react in kind.
Finally, a visibly upset Wenstrup reiterated his rebuke to Greene while asking the other members to show respect to their colleagues. However, Greene continued to rebuke Fauci for his “disgusting evil science” before again calling for his imprisonment.
“Do you know what this committee does? We propose that you be prosecuted. We drafted a referral for criminal because you will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity,” she said angrily. “Your position is in prison, Dr. Fauci!
Moments after the lopsided exchange, Garcia apologized to the former White House adviser.
“Dr. Fauci, I’m sorry you had to go through this. It was absolutely irresponsible,” Garcia said. This might possibly be the craziest hearing I’ve ever attended!I’ve only been in Congress for a year and a half, but I’m very sorry that you’re subject to this point of attacks and insanity.
Garcia wasn’t the only Democrat to apologize for the remedy he got from conservatives. At the beginning of the testimony, Raskin lashed out at Donald Trump while mocking Republicans for supporting the former president after his felony conviction.
“Some of our colleagues in the U. S. House of Representatives seem to need to drag their call through the mud. They’re treating you, Dr. Fauci, like a convicted felon,” Raskin joked. “In fact, I wish they would treat him like a convicted criminal, they treat them with love and admiration. Some of them blindly worship convicted criminals.
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