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’

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, 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 have 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 years of public service, Dr Fauci has led the United States through epidemics of HIV and Covid, through outbreaks of Ebola and Sars 1, and through the 2001 anthrax attacks. He has worked tirelessly to advance science and protect the public’s health.

“As the congressional hearings targeting Dr Fauci approach, we are urging our elected representatives in Congress stop these witch-hunts and support good public health and scientific practices so that America’s leadership in innovation remains secure,” the letter concludes.

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Paul, the Republican who chairs the committee, released thousands of pages of Fauci’s diary entries from during the Covid-19 pandemic, which showed Fauci’s efforts to manage and address the pandemic, navigate his relationship with Donald Trump, and reflect on his public profile and media image.

Fauci left the government at the end of 2022 and has said over the years that research has “strongly suggested” that coronavirus most likely emerged through natural origins, probably from animal-to-human transmission.

But he has insisted he keeps a “completely open mind” about other possibilities, including the theory that the virus may have leaked from a lab in China in 2019, and has denied allegations by some Republican lawmakers, including Paul, that he sought to suppress that theory.

Before Trump returned to office last year, Joe Biden issued a pre-emptive pardon to Fauci and other senior officials. But despite the pardon, Paul has referred Fauci to the Department of Justice for “potential criminal prosecution”.