Fauci's former boss says COVID lab leak theory was not a conspiracy after calling it 'distraction'

Dr. Francis Collins, the former National Institutes of Health director, told a congressional subcommittee on Friday that the coronavirus-lab Wuhan leak theory was not a conspiracy after calling it a "distraction" in 2021.

"Dr. Collins agreed with Dr. Fauci’s concession that the COVID-19 lab leak hypothesis is not a conspiracy," Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on Coronavirus Pandemic, wrote following Collins' closed-door testimony on Friday.

"Dr. Collins minced words over the definition of gain-of-function research in an effort to hide the NIH’s involvement in funding the dangerous research in Wuhan. This wordplay mimics Dr. Fauci’s profuse defense of his previous Congressional testimony where he claimed the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan," Wenstrup also wrote.

According to Wenstrup, Collins "acknowledged that Dr. Fauci invited him to attend the infamous February 1, 2020 conference call that prompted the 'Proximal Origin' publication."

He said that Collins' testimony on the matter "directly contradicts Dr. Fauci’s previous statements and raises further concerns about the U.S. government’s role in suppressing and vilifying the lab-leak hypothesis."