Marjorie Taylor Greene says Fauci should be jailed at Covid hearing: Live updates

Members will have five days to submit questions to Dr Fauci that he will respond to.

“Their accusations are without evidence,” Rep Ruiz said.

He called the baseless accusations wrong because not only does it stir up mistrust in the scientific fields, but it leads to threats against Dr Fauci and other public health officials.

Democrats didn’t ask any further questions of Dr Fauci.

Dr Fauci’s expertise was on full display during Monday’s hearing.

The infectious disease expert, despite being accused of essentially causing a global killer virus, remained composed as he debunked certain conspiracies brought by the GOP members of the subcommittee and stayed calm as he clarified some statements he made almost six months ago during a transcribed interview in January.

He did so largely using terms and examples that most laypeople can undertand.

Although he vehemently rejected some of the theories suggested by GOP members, he did not trip up on any misconstrued questions and instead opted to take “30 seconds”, as he did in one instance, to fully explain the answer rather than relying on a distorted prompt. For example, when multiple Republican members asked about animal testing, he asked what this had to do with the current hearing.

Not only did he refrain from taking the bait and straying into politics and away from the topic at hand, but his knowledge of infectious disease was clear. He frequently referred to long-standing medical practices, like the one that prompted the six-foot distance rule suggested by the CDC, and current medical papers.

Most of the Republican members have left the hearing, according to The Hill.

One of the GOP’s committee staff members is currently questioning Dr Fauci, asking him questions with a calmness that has so far been unprecedented in this heated hearing.

“Oh absolutely,” Fauci said about the idea that a lab leak could have caused the virus.

However, he explained, “I feel like based on the data I have seen that the more likely, not definitive, but the more likely explanation is the spiollover from an animal reservoir. But since there has not been definitive proof one way or the other, we have to keep an open mind.”

Fauci has repeatedly expressed that he is keeping an “open mind” as it comes the virus’s origins.

“I keep an open mind as to whether [the possible origin] could be a laboratory leak or …. from a natural occurence from an animal reservoir,” he said in plain terms.

GOP Rep Jim Jordan asked why it was “so important” that virus was not started in a lab?

He read exchanges between Facebook executives and the White House before asking why the Biden administration was trying to hide the idea that Covid-19 was started in a lab.

Fauci asked what this line of questioning had to do with him, as he wasn’t on those emails.

He then reiterated that Covid’s origins have not been determined. “I kept an open mind,” Fauci said, which Jordan repeated mockingly.

He disagreed that there was a push to downplay the lab leak’s theory. “Not on my part,” Fauci said.

“Really?” Jordan pushed.

“Look at the facts. I’ve kept an open mind throughout the process,” the expert retorted.