Trump administration needs to stop ‘public harassment’ of Fauci and scientists, open letter says

Anthony Fauci at the White House in Washington DC on 22 November 2022. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Anthony Fauci at the White House in Washington DC on 22 November 2022. Photograph: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images Trump administration needs to stop ‘public harassment’ of Fauci and scientists, open letter says Letter, published before Anthony Fauci will appear before Congress, accuses Republicans of ‘waging a war on individual scientists’ US politics live – latest updates More than 155 scientists, physicians and public health advocates have called for an end to what they describe as the “vilification and harassment of many American scientists” by the Trump administration and its allies. In an open letter published one day before Anthony Fauci, the former top US government science adviser, is scheduled to appear at a high-profile hearing in US Congress, after the Republican-controlled Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee compelled him to testify, the scientists and physicians dismissed allegations against the ex-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director as “baseless”. Fauci expressed disillusionment with ‘rambling, crazy’ Trump in journal Read more Fauci, 85, who helped guide the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as director of the NIAID, is set to testify under subpoena before the committee on Wednesday as a part of its investigation into the origins of the virus and whether US federal officials, including Fauci, misled the public and Congress about the source of the outbreak, a claim that has been made by Senator Rand Paul, a Republican of Kentucky who chairs the committee, for years . The letter signed by the group of scientists and public health advocates alleges that the Trump administration and its congressional allies are “waging a war on individual scientists, through public harassment, arrests, criminal indictment and ongoing threats of prosecution”. The letter states that several scientists have come under scrutiny under this administration, but the signatories argue that “the most prominent target of the administration and its allies” is Fauci, who left the federal government in 2022 after leading the NIAID for 38 years . “The charges against Dr Fauci are baseless, suggesting he covered up the origins of Covid, that he bribed or persuaded other scientists to join his cover-up, that NIAID-funded research sparked the pandemic, that he personally holds patents on the virus, and that he’s working with intelligence agencies to suppress the true story of the pandemic,” the letter states. “No credible evidence has been produced to support these absurd charges.” The letter adds that the allegations and accusations about Fauci has led to “five-year period of harassment and threats of violence directed at Dr Fauci and his family”. “Now, this month, he is being subpoenaed by Congress once again,” it continues. “In over 60 y