Sen. Blackburn slams Fauci over COVID-19 lab leak theory dismissal, says he 'shielded' China from scrutiny

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of attempting to deflect criticism of his initial handling of the COVID-19 lab leak theory on Monday following a fiery interview in which he accused his detractors of being “anti-science.”

"Whether intentional or not, Dr. Fauci’s statements shielded the Chinese Communist Party in covering up its role in creating this deadly pandemic by downplaying the possibility that the virus leaked from a lab," Blackburn said in a statement. "Fauci, along with the mainstream media, refused to take the lab leak theory seriously, and until recently, went to great lengths to portray it as ‘nutty.' Big tech companies like Facebook went so far as to censor discussion about the origins of COVID. No amount of revisionism will change these facts." Last month, President Biden ordered the intelligence community to further investigate both theories and report back with their findings within 90 days. Calls to investigate the lab leak theory, once dismissed as a conspiracy, have intensified in recent weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that three researchers at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized with COVID-19-like symptoms in the fall of 2019.