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.

Anthony Fauci set to make $350,000 annual pension, largest retirement package in US government history: Report



Dr. Anthony Fauci is on track to receive the largest retirement package in U.S. government history. Fauci – who has worked for the federal government for 55 years – is set to make a lucrative annual pension of at least $350,000, according to a new report.

Forbes reported, "Our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com estimate Dr. Fauci’s annual retirement would exceed $350,000. Thereafter, his pension and benefits would continue to increase through annual cost-of-living adjustments."

Fauci – the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – was reportedly the highest-paid government employee for the past two years. Fauci raked in a reported 2020 salary of $434,312, out-earning the president of the United States. Fauci pulled in an annual salary of $417,608 in 2019, according to OpenTheBooks.com. Fauci has purportedly been paid at least $335,000 by the government every year since 2007.

"Anthony S. Fauci's 2020 pay is 73% higher than the average medical officer across all agencies," according to FederalPay.org.

Fauci – who turned 81-years-old on Christmas Eve – asserted this month that he will not retire until the end of the pandemic.

On Dec. 19, Fauci appeared on ABC's "This Week," where host Jonathan Karl lauded the NIAID head as "one of the hardest working human beings in America."

"First of all, thank you for your service," Karl glowingly hailed Fauci. "But let me ask you. Do you feel a responsibility to stay doing what you’re doing until this -- until this has truly gotten under control?"

Fauci responded, "Absolutely, Jon. There's no doubt about it. This is the thing that I do. This is what I’ve been trained and experienced in doing my entire professional life."

"There's no way I’m going to walk away from this until we get this under control. I mean, that's the purpose of what we do," Fauci continued. "That's – that's our mission in life. In the middle of it, I’m not going to walk away."

Fauci then compared the pandemic to a "war."

"It's kind of like we're halfway through World War II, and you decide, 'Well, I think I’ve had enough of this. I’m walking away,'" Fauci proclaimed. "You can't do that. You've got to finish it – and we're going to finish this and get back to normal."

Omicron variant 'really something to be reckoned with': Fauci | ABC News www.youtube.com