Rep. Madison Cawthorn said he wants to “prosecute” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci if Republicans take back control of the House in 2022.
In an interview on “Just the Truth” with Jenna Ellis, the North Carolina Republican accused Fauci of being a “pawn of the Chinese Communist Party” and expressed support for referring Fauci to the Department of Justice to be prosecuted for lying to Congress.
“I’ll tell you when we take the majority back in 2022, I’ll make sure consequences are doled out,” Cawthorn said.
“We want to prosecute this guy to the full ability of the law. And I’ll tell you, to lie to the American people just to get your name in the news, just to see your face on the cover of books, just to get fame and fortune — I’ll tell you, Dr. Anthony Fauci does not deserve either fame or fortune.
“He has absolutely destroyed multiple economies in … 50 states, he has shackled these economies, he has shut down family-owned businesses that have been around for generations and he is taking away some of the most critical years that young children have.”
??? @RepCawthorn slams Fauci for COVID response, said he “directly lied to Congress” and backs @RandPaul’s DOJ criminal referral.
Watch my full interview with Rep. Cawthorn from #JustTheTruth tonight on @RealAmVoice https://t.co/EqoOTIA8y2
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) July 22, 2021
Sen. Rand Paul has sparred with Fauci in the past and asked the DOJ this week to investigate Fauci’s behavior during a Senate hearing, Fox News reported.
The Kentucky Republican claimed Fauci has obscured his relationship with the Wuhan, China, lab where the COVID-19 virus is believed to have originated and lied to Congress.
“Well, I think it’s important to know that Dr. Fauci has a self-interest in obscuring any relationship or responsibility for anything done in the Wuhan lab,” Paul said.
“Without question, the evidence we presented in committee yesterday shows that the NIH was funding research in Wuhan. We showed the exact numerical series of numbers that goes with the grant numbers. So yes, they were funding the Wuhan lab.”
Fauci denied the accusation and told Paul Tuesday that he didn’t know what Paul was talking about.
The latest sparring match led Paul to announce a criminal referral.
“I will be sending a letter to Department of Justice asking for a criminal referral because he has lied to Congress,” he told Sean Hannity on Tuesday.
“We have scientists that were lined up by the dozens to say that the research he was funding was gain-of-function.”
Fauci has worked with the federal government for decades but has recently been criticized by Republicans for allegedly politicizing his work, according to The Hill.
He said during a White House news briefing in January that working with the Biden administration has been “liberating” compared to working with the Trump administration.
“Obviously I don’t want to be going back over history, but it was very clear that there were things that were said — be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things like that — that really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact,” Fauci said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
