Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci is set to testify before a Senate committee on Wednesday regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hearing is expected to be a contentious showdown between the retired infectious disease expert and Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Senator Paul, who subpoenaed Fauci, has accused the former official of lying to Congress and funding research that triggered the pandemic. Fauci has denied these charges, calling the accusations preposterous.
Ahead of the hearing, Senator Paul released over a thousand pages of Fauci's private journal entries from the pandemic. Some entries from January 2020 suggest that Wuhan, China, may have amplified the COVID-19 virus but was not its source. Senator Paul alleges these notes indicate that Fauci attempted to cover up the origins of the pandemic.