Comer says he 'likes the idea' of Fauci being arrested over COVID protocols

Lina Portman3 days ago

0 2 minutes read

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said Tuesday he “likes the idea” of former COVID response chief Anthony Fauci being arrested over his testimony Monday about the Trump administration’s early response to the coronavirus.

Comer said Fauci lied to Congress about the government's early response to COVID, claiming he invented the recommended 6-foot social distancing, which quickly became ubiquitous amid the pandemic and other restrictions.

“Ultimately, if you lie to Congress, it’s a crime,” Comer said in an interview with Fox Business. “And when you watch the clip that you just showed, everybody knows that Dr. Fauci was the main instigator of the spacing.”

“This phenomenon not only led to the closure of tens of thousands of businesses in the United States, but also an increase in debt, due to the need to subsidize the businesses that closed and the need to subsidize the rate of unemployment,” he continued. “He destroyed public education. Children couldn't go to school because of the 6-foot social distancing requirements championed by Dr. Fauci. »

It was the first time Fauci answered questions under oath since leaving government office. He has faced a host of Republican critics who have sought to pin blame on the former White House medical adviser for the hardships Americans have faced during the pandemic.

Comer said in an interview with Newsmax earlier Tuesday that he hoped the testimony could be used to gather evidence for a criminal investigation against Fauci.

“I hope we can listen to his words today and continue to try to gather evidence and take steps to try to hold him for criminal acts, because I believe the majority of Americans realize that Dr. Fauci made costly mistakes, lied about them, and tried to cover it up,” Comer said.

Comer chairs the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which has sought to link Fauci to misconduct at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci was the institute's director for decades but testified that he had no knowledge of a senior adviser's attempts to circumvent public information laws.

Fauci was also rebuked by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who refused to call him “doctor,” and he became emotional at one point in the hearing as he recounted the harassment and death threats he received over the years because of his leadership during the COVID response.

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