{"id":1752355,"date":"2022-11-27T06:05:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T11:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1752355"},"modified":"2022-11-27T07:18:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T12:18:33","slug":"fauci-defended-lockdowns-during-deposition-said-china-was-the-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fauci-defended-lockdowns-during-deposition-said-china-was-the-inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Fauci Defended Lockdowns During Deposition, Said China Was the Inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffauci-defended-lockdowns-during-deposition-said-china-was-the-inspiration%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1752355&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A top U.S. health official who publicly backed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic defended his position during a deposition on Nov. 23,\u00a0according to people who were present for the questioning.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-anthony-fauci\">Anthony Fauci<\/a>, the longtime director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and President Joe Biden\u2019s chief medical adviser, also said the inspiration for the lockdowns was communist-run <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-china\">China<\/a>, one of the people said.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci\u00a0sat for the seven-hour deposition in Bethesda, Maryland, where the headquarters for the institute\u2019s parent agency are located.<\/p>\n<p>He was forced to answer questions under oath <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/judge-orders-fauci-psaki-top-officials-be-deposed-in-big-tech-censorship-case_4813336.html\">on orders from a federal judge<\/a> who is set to decide whether the government should be blocked from pressuring Big Tech firms into censoring posts and users.<\/p>\n<p>While Fauci often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/fauci-could-not-recall-key-details-during-deposition-louisiana-attorney-general_4882634.html\">could not recall<\/a> actions he took during the pandemic, he did talk about his role in advocating for lockdowns.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci said that Dr. Clifford Lane, a deputy director at the\u00a0NIAID, reported back to him after Lane went to China soon in early 2020, a few months after the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in Wuhan.<\/p>\n<p>Lane reported China appeared to be controlling the COVID-19 virus through harsh lockdowns, and Fauci soon decided the United States needed to emulate China, at least to an extent, according to\u00a0Jenin Younes, one of the lawyers present for the deposition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is what we had to do.\u00a0There were freezer trucks in New York full of bodies,\u201d Fauci said, Younes told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4886005\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cliff-lane.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4886005\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-full wp-image-4886005\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cliff-lane.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"250\" height=\"312\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4886005\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cliff-lane.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"250\" height=\"312\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Dr. Clifford Lane. (NIAID)<\/figure>\n<p>New York was hit hardest by the pandemic. Critics say that unusual policies, such as one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/new-york-mandate-blocks-discharge-of-elderly-covid-19-patients-to-nursing-homes_3346266.html\">that forced nursing homes<\/a> to accept people who tested positive for COVID-19, led to the elevated number of deaths. Tens of thousands of people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/new-york-adds-nearly-12000-covid-19-fatalities-under-new-governor_3964956.html\">died in New York nursing homes<\/a> with COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese officials, meanwhile, told residents in various areas to remain inside their homes, and forced many to comply by barricading their doors. China is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which regularly commits human rights abuses against Christians, Falun Gong practitioners, and others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question of human rights didn\u2019t factor in\u201d to Fauci\u2019s mindset, according to Younes, a lawyer with the New Civil Liberties Alliance who is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/great-barrington-declaration-authors-join-lawsuit-against-alleged-government-big-tech-collusion_4640259.html\">representing some of the plaintiffs in the case<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, also said that Fauci defended the lockdowns while answering questions under oath this week.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci and NIAID have not responded to requests for comment on the deposition. Lane, who wrote in a February 2020 email (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/DCNF-v-HHS-Nov-2020-00149.pdf\">pdf<\/a>) that \u201cChina has demonstrated this infection can be controlled, albeit at great cost,\u201d declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Lane was also part of the World Health Organization team that, along with Chinese scientists, called for\u00a0countries to \u201cPrepare to immediately activate the highest level of emergency response mechanisms to trigger the all-of-government and all-of society approach that is essential for early containment of a COVID-19 outbreak\u201d in a February 2020 report (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/docs\/default-source\/coronaviruse\/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h2>Backed Harsh Measures<\/h2>\n<p>Fauci, who helped lead the federal government response to the pandemic during President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, repeatedly backed harsh measures that were believed to help contain COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>In early 2020, for instance, Fauci said on CNN that he supported policies that would lead to \u201ca dramatic diminution of the personal interaction that we see in restaurants and in bars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor a while, life is not going to be the way it used to be in the United States,\u201d he said on Fox News around the same time. \u201cWe have to just accept that if we want to do what\u2019s best for the American public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fauci was successful in convincing Trump to advocate for \u201c15 days to slow the spread,\u201d according to accounts from Dr. Deborah Birx and others who worked closely with the doctor. Birx said in her book, \u201cNo sooner had we convinced the Trump administration to implement our version of a two-week shutdown than I was trying to figure out how to extend it.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3510891\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Dr.-Deborah-Birx-1200x800-1.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3510891\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3510891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Dr.-Deborah-Birx-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Deborah Birx\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3510891\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Dr.-Deborah-Birx-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Deborah Birx\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Dr. Deborah Birx (R) speaks alongside former President Donald Trump and Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci during a briefing at the White House in Washington, on March 29, 2020. (Jim Watson\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>The federal government later added additional weeks to their recommendations, which triggered mass closures of schools and private businesses on orders from governors across the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple governors, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, soon balked at the recommendations, though the harsh measures continued in a number of states into 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Studies have since identified the measures as contributing to jumps in suicides, mental health crises, learning loss, and delayed health treatments.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci did not express regret during the deposition for helping trigger the lockdowns, Younes said. Fauci <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/fauci-claims-he-never-recommended-covid-19-lockdowns_4625763.html\">has claimed publicly<\/a> that he never recommended lockdowns.<\/p>\n<h2>Could Not Remember Specifics<\/h2>\n<p>Fauci\u2019s NIAID gave grants to the high-level laboratory located in the same Chinese city where the first COVID-19 cases appeared. Some experts believed early on that the illness stemmed from a laboratory accident or purposeful release, but Fauci has repeatedly said all evidence points to a natural origin.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists, though, have never been able to pinpoint such an origin.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/fauci-was-told-privately-by-key-scientists-that-natural-origin-was-highly-unlikely-newly-unredacted-emails-confirm_4207003.html\">told early on by top U.S. health officials<\/a> that a natural origin was \u201chighly unlikely,\u201d while several other scientists <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/behind-the-scenes-of-the-natural-origin-narrative_4023181.html\">told Fauci during a call<\/a> that the odds were the virus emerged from a lab, according to documents that emerged later in the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Those same scientists later penned an influential paper that was widely cited, including by Fauci, in dismissing the lab origin theory. Fauci neglected to reveal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/new-emails-reveal-faucis-role-in-shaping-highly-influential-paper-that-established-covid-natural-origin-narrative_4225917.html\">his role<\/a> in shaping the paper.<\/p>\n<p>That private call on Feb. 1, 2020, which included experts from multiple countries, was brought up during the deposition but Fauci said he could not recall the specifics of the discussion, according to Younes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe claimed that he couldn\u2019t [recall] the contents of the call, nothing specific,\u201d Younes said. \u201cThat was the theme. Everything was \u2018I can\u2019t remember anything specific.\u2019 What he does is he says he can\u2019t remember anything specific \u2026 so if he\u2019s confronted with something then he could say \u2018well, I didn\u2019t lie. I just couldn\u2019t recall.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who was also at the deposition, told The Epoch Times that Fauci could not recall \u201cpractically anything\u201d when questioned on his actions during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4127296\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GettyImages-1210149339-1200x800-1200x800-1200x800-1.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4127296\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-4127296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GettyImages-1210149339-1200x800-1200x800-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-4127296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GettyImages-1210149339-1200x800-1200x800-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> The P4 laboratory, designated as the highest level of biological safety, at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, on April 17, 2020. (Hector Retamal\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<h2>Censorship<\/h2>\n<p>The case that led to the deposition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/2-gop-led-states-sue-biden-administration-for-pressuring-and-colluding-with-big-tech-to-censor-free-speech_4449673.html\">alleges<\/a> the government violated the U.S. Constitution\u2019s First Amendment by pressuring Big Tech firms to censor users.<\/p>\n<p>Documents<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/over-50-biden-administration-employees-12-us-agencies-involved-in-social-media-censorship-push-documents_4704349.html\"> produced in discovery<\/a> show government officials repeatedly urging companies to take action against certain users and certain posts, alleging efforts against purported misinformation and disinformation weren\u2019t sufficient. Some officials made similar statements in public, including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, a Biden appointee.\u00a0The government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/biden-administration-says-its-pressure-on-social-media-companies-wasnt-coercive_4881488.html\">has said<\/a> the documents do not show First Amendment violations, and has asked for the case to be dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee overseeing the case, said while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23227642-doughty-order-on-depositions\">ordering the depositions<\/a> that emails \u201cprove that Dr. Fauci was communicating and acting as an intermediary for others in order to censor information from being shared across multiple social-media outlets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fauci \u201chas yet to give any statements under oath in this matter,\u201d Doughty said, adding that \u201cthe Court has no doubt that Dr. Fauci was engaging in communications with high-ranking social-media officials, which is extremely relevant in the matter at hand,\u201d and that all three points showed any burden Fauci would face for a deposition was outweighed by the importance of the allegations.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci told lawyers in the deposition that he doesn\u2019t use social media and does not have anything to do with it, according to Younes.<\/p>\n<p>She represents two of the three co-authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, a 2020 document that challenged the prevailing view that the COVID-19 response needed to include abnormal actions such as school closures in favor of focusing on protecting the high-risk groups, including the elderly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was too busy running a six billion institute to be concerned about things like the Great Barrington Declaration,\u201d Fauci was quoted as saying in the deposition.<\/p>\n<p>But publically released emails show Fauci and his boss at the time, Dr. Francis Collins, were concerned about the declaration. Collins <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/new-emails-reveal-evidence-of-government-efforts-to-suppress-free-speech_4171310.html\">told Fauci<\/a> he wanted a \u201cquick and devastating published takedown of its premises,\u201d and Fauci sent over an article from Wired that he claimed \u201cdebunks this theory.\u201d Fauci <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/health\/exclusive-fauci-said-great-barrington-declaration-reminded-him-of-aids-denialism_4337628.html\">said in one email<\/a> the theory reminded him of \u201cAIDS denialism.\u201d Fauci also spoke publicly against what he interpreted as the document\u2019s main thrust, which he described as \u201clet things rip and let the infection go,\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/fauci-stands-by-criticism-of-great-barrington-declaration-author-responds_4460533.html\">has stood by his criticism into 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The National Institutes of Health, which Collins led at the time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/nih-check-out-wikipedia-to-see-why-great-barrington-declaration-is-dangerous_4176405.html\">cited Wikipedia<\/a> when asked for a source for the claims against the declaration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he obviously knew what the crux of the lawsuit was and\u00a0claimed sort of upfront that it\u2019s his opinion that the best way to deal with bad ideas is more speech rather than trying to censor, so I think he was trying to get in front of any allegation,\u201d Younes said of the deposition.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci\u2019s belief was that Collins calling for a \u201ctakedown\u201d meant \u201coffering an article refuting it,\u201d Younes added.<\/p>\n<p>Fauci also denied that any of his conversations with Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, dealt with censorship.<\/p>\n<p>The transcript of the deposition is expected to be released at a later date.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-zachary-stieber\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/WEB_ZacharyStieber-1.jpg\" alt=\"Zachary Stieber\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Zachary Stieber covers U.S. and world news for The Epoch Times. He is based in Maryland.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A top U.S. health official who publicly backed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic defended his position during a deposition on Nov. 23,\u00a0according to people who were present for the questioning.Dr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1752358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1752355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1752355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1752358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1752355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1752355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1752355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}