Watchdog group claims Fauci has 'handsomely profited’ during the pandemic



The leader of a government watchdog group is claiming that White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has "handsomely profited" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are the details?

Adam Andrzejewski, the CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, told Fox News recently that his group has been working tirelessly to obtain financial records for one of the most recognizable and controversial figures to emerge since the start of the pandemic.

Fauci, who also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has long been criticized for allegedly benefitting from the pandemic while many Americans suffered financial loss as a result of the persistent economic shutdowns he supported.

Last year, through a Freedom of Information Act Request, OpenTheBooks.com discovered that Fauci was the highest-paid employee of the federal government, earning a higher salary than even the president of the United States. But Andrzejewski suggested recently that Fauci's salary is only the tip of the iceberg.

"During the pandemic, Dr. Fauci has handsomely profited from his federal employment, royalties, travel perks, and investment gains," Andrzejewski asserted.

What else?

Fox News reported that OpenTheBooks.com began filing more FOIA requests for Fauci's records on Jan. 28, 2021, but that the National Institutes of Health has been dragging its feet in fulfilling the requests. It took the department several months to finally send over "a meager 51 pages of information with redactions."

That batch of information didn't even include Fauci's current employment agreement or confidentiality and conflict of interest documents, the watchdog group reported, noting the latter could be numerous.

Following more pressure and an official lawsuit filed in October alongside Judicial Watch, the agency "admitted they were holding 1,200 pages subject to our request," Andrzejewski recounted.

"So think about this, we got 51 pages — there were redactions — and there are 1,200 pages," Andrzejewski added. "So they admitted to holding 1,200 pages that were subject to the request and 3,000 pages of line-by-line royalty payments. Every line is a potential conflict of interest and there are up to 1,000 NIH scientists receiving royalty payments. It's legal, but it should be disclosed."

Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on behalf of http://OpenTheBooks.com\u00a0 against the HHS for calendars and calendar entries of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci. READ NOW: http://jwatch.us/LPaHzY\u00a0https://twitter.com/FreedomWorks/status/1483505359453106180\u00a0\u2026
— Judicial Watch \u2696\ufe0f (@Judicial Watch \u2696\ufe0f) 1642531590

Due to a reported backlog in FOIA requests, the NIH told OpenTheBooks.com that it is only able to distribute the information 300 pages at a time, once per month. The watchdog said given that rollout, the full release could take up to 14 months.

Anything else?

As a government employee, Fauci's financial disclosures should be readily available to the public upon request, but that has not been the case. Fox News noted the disclosures aren't listed in the same searchable database as many other federal officials.

The lengthy process that OpenTheBooks.com and others have undertaken point to suspicion that Fauci was either being intentionally disingenuous or ignorant when he defiantly claimed in a testy exchange with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) this month, "My financial disclosure is public knowledge and has been so for the last 37 years or so."

"What a moron!" Fauci muttered about Marshall after the lawmaker pressed him about his finances in a Senate committee hearing.

Days later, Marshall obtained previously unpublished financial disclosures from the National Institutes of Health showing Fauci and his wife have a combined net worth of $10.4 million.

The disclosures also showed that Fauci will make approximately $2.5 million as President Biden's chief medical adviser should he stay for a full four years and highlighted tens of thousands in profits that Fauci has amassed for attending various galas and ceremonies over the past couple of years.

GOP senator who was called a 'moron' by Fauci leaks top doc's unredacted financial disclosures, proposes 'FAUCI Act'



The Republican senator who was called a "moron" by Dr. Anthony Fauci has published unredacted financial disclosures of the nation's top doctor. The GOP senator is also planning to introduce a bill named after Fauci following a tense exchange on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) grilled Fauci on Tuesday during a Senate committee hearing.

"You have an annual salary in 2020 that was $434,000," Marshall said of Fauci. "You oversee over $5 billion in federal research grants. As the highest-paid employee in the entire federal government, yes or no: Would you be willing to submit to Congress and the public a financial disclosure that includes your past and current investments?”

Fauci responded, "My financial disclosure is public knowledge and has been so for the last 37 years or so."

The two men then had a testy exchange debating whether or not Fauci's financial disclosures are public knowledge. The volatile back-and-forth ended with Fauci being caught on a hot mic demeaning Marshall, "What a moron! Jesus Christ."

On Friday, Marshall obtained Fauci's previously unpublished financial disclosures from the National Institutes of Health.

"While Fauci's financial disclosure documents can be requested from the National Institute of Health, they aren't listed in the same searchable database as many other federal officials," Fox News noted.

The records show that Fauci — who is the top bioethicist at the National Institutes of Health — and his wife have a combined net worth of $10.4 million.

Fauci will reportedly make approximately $2.5 million as President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor between 2020 and 2024 if he stays on through Biden's current term.

Fauci, 80, has been in charge of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, and he is currently making $434,312 a year as head of the NIAID.

"Fauci's records show that he and his wife were paid $13,298 to attend four galas and ceremonies - three of them virtual," the Daily Mail reported. "The disclosures show Fauci was paid $5,000 to attend a 'RFK Ripple of Hope' virtual awards ceremony in December 2020; $1,600 to attend 'An Evening of Hope' virtual event in April 2020; and $1,500 to attend a 'Prepared for Life' virtual gala in October 2020. He was also reimbursed $5,198 for costs associated with his being awarded federal employee of the year and being given the Service to America medal, in October 2020."

A report that surfaced last month stated that Fauci is set to make a $350,000 annual pension, the largest retirement package in U.S. government history.

Marshall released a statement that reads, "Since the disclosures were not public, on Wednesday, Senator Marshall sent a letter to Dr. Fauci formally requesting his un-redacted financial disclosures by 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 14th. In response, Dr. Fauci produced these previously unpublished documents."

Marshall accused Fauci of lying about his financial disclosures being available to the public, and announced that he plans on introducing legislation named after the White House's chief medical adviser.

Dr. Fauci lied to the American people. He is more concerned with being a media star and posing for the cover of magazines than he is being honest with the American people and holding China accountable for the COVID pandemic that has taken the lives of almost 850 thousand Americans. Just like he has misled the American people about sending taxpayers dollars to Wuhan, China to fund gain-of-function research, about masks, testing, and more, Dr. Fauci was completely dishonest about his financial disclosures being open to the public – it’s no wonder he is the least trusted bureaucrat in America. At the end of the day, Dr. Fauci must be held accountable to all Americans who have been suing and requesting for this information but don’t have the power of a Senate office to ask for it. For these reasons, I will be introducing the FAUCI Act so financial disclosures like these are made public and are easily accessible online to every American.

Marshall's bill is named the "Financial Accountability for Uniquely Compensated Individuals Act." The bill claims that records of government officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci are not easily accessible to the public.

The FAUCI Act would require administration officials to provide public access to their financial disclosures on the official Office of Government Ethics website. The bill would also list all confidential filers within the government whose financial disclosures are not public.

Others have previously attempted to obtain Fauci's financial information.

The Center for Public Integrity submitted a request for Fauci's financial disclosures with the NIH in 2020.

"I first asked the NIH for Fauci’s disclosure on May 18, 2020 and didn’t receive it until Aug. 5," wrote Center for Public Integrity reporter Liz Essley Whyte. "The NIH also chose to give the disclosure to me under the Freedom of Information Act, which they didn’t need to do and caused the document to be partially redacted. (Though most of the information about Fauci’s income, gifts and investments in 2019 is still there for all to see.) They did not respond to my questions, then or now, about why they did that."

In October, Judicial Watch launched a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit on behalf of OpenTheBooks.com against the Department of Health and Human Services for the "employment contracts; financial, conflict of interest, and confidentiality disclosure documents; and job description of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., as well as royalties paid to NIH employees by outside entities."

Forbes reported that the "NIH is holding 1,200 pages of Fauci disclosure information," and that the "agency will only produce 300 pages per month and not even begin to produce documents until February 1st."