Cruz blasts media's 'absolutely dishonest' coverage of Fauci, says it 'protects' top health official
Cruz repeats his call for the DOJ to investigate the NIAID director for 'lying' to Congress
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, blasted the media for its fawning coverage of Dr. Anthony Fauci despite his lengthy history of flip-flops during the COVID pandemic and his questionable testimony on Capitol Hill.
"I think it is absolutely dishonest," Cruz told Fox News in an interview. "I think the media lionizes, protects and hides Dr. Fauci."
WATCH SIRI INTERRUPT TED CRUZ AS HE BASHES BIG TECH DURING FOX NEWS INTERVIEW
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cruz, who spoke on Monday at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, called out the NIAID director for being "systematically wrong over and over and over again" from his stance on masks to his gloomy forecast for a vaccine under the Trump administration.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, responds to questions by Senator Rand Paul during the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on July 20, 2021. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite / POOL / AFP) (Photo by J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) ((Photo by J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images))
"He lied to the American people and said there's no credible evidence that this virus escaped from a Chinese lab. That's not true," Cruz said. "There's overwhelming evidence that it escaped from a Chinese lab. And very significantly, he also, by all appearances, has lied to the United States Congress."
"He's testified multiple times in front of Congress, that the NIH has not funded gain of function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese government lab where it appears COVID escaped from. Gain-of-function research is where you alter a virus to make it more dangerous, make it more contagious to people. And he said categorically, unequivocally ‘No, we have not funded gain of function research at the Wuhan lab.' Earlier this year, the NIH, in writing said effectively we have funded gain of function research. It's a flat-out contradiction, 180 degrees opposite."
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The Senate Republican repeated his call for the DOJ to investigate Fauci for allegedly lying to Congress, which he noted is a "felony punishable by up to five years in prison."
"The statements are flatly contradictory. And yet the Biden Justice Department is so partisan and politicized, they're unwilling to hold him to account," Cruz said. "I think we ought to have transparency and accountability. And Fauci continues to repeat these lies."