House GOP says Fauci emails contradict claim of no planning role in call about COVID origins

Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he did not have control over who would be on an international call discussing the origins of COVID-19 after former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield testified he was excluded from the meeting, but emails published by the House Coronavirus Pandemic Select Subcommittee appear to contradict his claims. 

Redfield testified to Congress earlier this month that he was told he was excluded from the February 2020 COVID origins call because federal health officials "wanted a single narrative and I obviously had a different point of view."

Days later, Fauci said, "I didn't include or exclude anybody from the call."

The COVID subcommittee last week published emails sent by Fauci before the 2020 conference call, showing how the then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director invited then-National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins to be on the call.

Given Fauci's claims about the call, Ohio Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup, the coronavirus subcommittee chair, wrote in a letter to the retired public health administrator: "We therefore respectfully request that you produce all documents and communications in your custody or control regarding your involvement in the planning of the February 1, 2020, conference call, specifically documents regarding the invitation and participation of Dr. Francis Collins, as soon as possible, but no later than March 31, 2023."