Fauci answers 'not recall' over 100 times, reveals 'drastic and systemic' failures, House chair says

Dr. Anthony Fauci said he "did not recall" important information or conversations more than 100 times during his first day of a two-day transcribed interview with the House Coronavirus Select Subcommittee, but he also revealed major failures in the U.S. health system, Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said.

"Dr. Fauci's testimony today uncovered drastic and systemic failures in America’s public health systems," Wenstrup said Monday after Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, met with the subcommittee earlier that day.

"While leading the nation’s COVID-19 response and influencing public narratives, he simultaneously had no idea what was happening under his own jurisdiction at NIAID," Wenstrup also said, using the acronym of the federal agency where Fauci served as director for nearly four decades. 

"It is also concerning that the face of our nation’s response to the world’s worst public health crisis 'does not recall' key details about COVID-19 origins and pandemic-era policies," Wenstrup added. He also said Fauci "claimed he 'did not recall' pertinent COVID-19 information or conversations more than 100 times."

The subcommittee chairman said he plans on asking the retired director more questions about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and his positions on lockdowns on Tuesday, when Fauci is scheduled to meet with the subcommittee again for a total of 14 hours of transcribed testimony. 

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