(NewsNation) — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is asking Dr. Anthony Fauci to again appear before Congress, citing emails that seemingly contradict his 2024 testimony on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Snippets of emails obtained by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — and posted on X by chairman Paul — showed the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease director telling agency employees to delete emails after reading them.
One message, sent on Feb. 2, 2020, was directed to then-NIH director Francis Collins: “Please delete this e-mail after you read it.”
Republicans bash Florida’s anti-vaccine stand: ‘Horrible idea’
Another, to an unnamed NIH employee on July 20, 2020, reads: “I do not want to engage any more with this nonsense. And so, please delete this e-mail after you read it.”
Last year, Fauci testified before the GOP-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that he had never obstructed Freedom of Information requests or deleted official records.
Fauci also said he’d never deleted communications regarding a lab in Wuhan, China, where the CIA said it believes the virus responsible for the pandemic originated.
CDC official fears for agency’s ‘integrity’ under RFK Jr.
“These documents suggest your direct involvement in efforts to conceal information related to the Committee’s investigation and appear to contradict your previous testimony before Congress,” Paul wrote in the committee’s letter to Fauci.
Paul and his committee have requested Fauci to come before Congress to testify before the end of the year.
