The hundreds of emails were released as part of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted by mainstream media outlets. They cover the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Many of the topics discussed in Fauci's emails involve the -- at the time -- ongoing and deteriorating coronavirus situation in the United States. (Related: Email: Researcher who funded Wuhan lab admitted to manipulating coronaviruses, thanked Fauci for dismissing lab leak theory.)
Fauci knew scientists were speculating whether coronavirus was engineered
On Jan. 31, 2020, Fauci forwarded a copy of a Science magazine article titled, "Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak's origins" to two people. This was more than two months before even the World Health Organization had characterized the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic.
The email recipients were American virus researcher Kristian G. Andersen and British medical researcher Sir Jeremy Farrar. Andersen is the head of Andersen Lab, a viral genomics lab, at Scripps Research. Farrar is the director of a Britain-based global health charity.
"This just came out today," wrote Fauci. "You may have seen it. If not, it is of interest to the current discussion."
Andersen wrote back, telling Fauci that he and other researchers analyzed the coronavirus genome and found some "unusual features" in the virus.
"The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (<0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered," wrote Andersen.
The virus researcher added that, after discussions with other scientists, they all agreed the genome of the coronavirus is "inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory."
"But we have to look at this much more closely and there are still further analyses to be done, so these opinions could still change."
Andersen and his team of researchers at Scripps later wrote an article for the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature Magazine wherein they supported the hypothesis that the coronavirus was naturally transferred from animals to humans. But he added that it was "currently impossible to prove or disprove the other theories of its origins."
The article later added that more data could "swing the balance of evidence to favor one hypothesis over another."
Republicans call for Fauci to be fired after release of emails
Since the release of Fauci's emails, many have begun calling for him to be fired from his position as President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor and as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
On Wednesday, June 2, the hashtag #FireFauci gained popularity on Twitter thanks to several notable Republican personalities and politicians like Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
"Told you #firefauci … Can't wait to see the media try to spin the Fauci FOIA emails," wrote Paul.
"It's time to fire Fauci!" he wrote in a different tweet. "Emails that have been released now under Freedom of Information Act show two very important things: 1. FAUCI has been lying. 2. I've been right all along."
"Fauci's leaked emails are shocking to say the least," wrote Greene on her Twitter account. "He needs to be FIRED! I introduced a bill to do just that … HR 2316, the 'Fire Fauci Act.'"
"We've been needing to #FireFauci for months now, but after these #FauciEmails we simply cannot wait another day," tweeted Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado. "How many lives could have been saved if these people were worried about science rather than PR?"
Other individuals that have commented on Fauci's emails include Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and former adviser to former President Donald Trump and conservative radio host Sebastian Gorka.
Read the latest articles discussing the details of Fauci's emails by subscribing to Pandemic.news.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.
