by Vinay Prasad
Politico is reporting that Biden may pre-emptively pardon Fauci
Presumably this is for the crime of perjury.
Having followed this for some time, to me it is clear that Fauci did perjure himself. He himself used the language of gain of function research in private and then denied that the research in question was gain of function when questioned by Rand Paul. That is a clear cut case of perjury.
I know many academics who privately agree with me: Fauci did a bad job. He lied about community masking (when he said cloth masks work, not initially). He advocated for school closure when Desantis reopened (politically motivated and wrong). His fearmongering rhetoric was abused by teachers’ unions to keep schools closed. Most notably, although he controlled a 5 billion dollar budget, he ran 0— ZERO— randomized trial of any of the interventions that he himself advised. Not 6ft vs 3ft distancing, not masking, not cohorting, not hepa filters in classrooms, etc etc. He generated no evidence, but never told the public how uncertain his advice was. This is unacceptable for a scientist.
Some of my colleagues defend him. They tell me that his job was impossible. No one could both be the public face of science, and run all the necessary studies as NIAID lead. Fauci did his best. But he CHOSE to do both. He chose to be on TV— countless times a day— and retain the head of NIAID. He could have passed the NIAID directorship to a competent manager anytime in his 40 year tenure. Nothing but vanity makes you do 10+ TV appearances a day.
Most important, he refused to engage with anyone who felt differently than he did. Famously, he and Collins labeled the GBD authors as fringe epidemiologists. But surely some dialog with them would have been better. They were completely right about elementary schools and had he spoken to them, I suspect the GBD authors would have at least changed his mind a little. It is a mistake in times of crisis to not hear from voices who dissent with your actions. They may provide guidance or temperance.
How history judges him is one thing, but on the specific question of perjury, and evading FOIA through gmail, the charges are damning. It is hard for anyone to deny he did these things, and he should be prosecuted, if indeed he did. The trial is not just to punish him, but to draw attention to the conduct. I recently saw this brilliant post.
Justice exists not just to punish misdeeds but to deter them. Pardoning Fauci will set a bad precindent for future public health leaders in times of crisis. They will be bolder and more reckless, and their lies more numerous. That is the real danger here.
Finally, I tend to agree how Richard Ebright has frames this.
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