A watchdog group has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for “obstructing” Dr. Anthony Fauci’s communications regarding potential vaccine royalties, according to a press release obtained by The Daily Caller. woke up.
of Public Health Reform Alliance (PHRA) The company has filed multiple FOIA requests seeking records regarding royalties between Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and other National Institutes of Health officials, according to a press release.
PHRA provides information to ensure that government officials “who are required to test, approve, and administer COVID-19 vaccines to millions of Americans” do not receive royalties from drug manufacturers. I asked for
“NIH simply does not want to reveal who received the royalties and how much,” the press release claimed. (Related article: Fauci laments how ‘free speech’ makes it harder to censor people who ‘demonize’ him)
HHS did not respond to the caller’s request for comment, and NIH had not yet responded as of this article’s publication.
I asked, “Can you tell me if any of the members of the vaccine approval committee received money from the people who make the vaccines?”
Fauci: “People who receive royalties don’t have to disclose that.” pic.twitter.com/a0YIm2jfvZ
— Sen. Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) June 16, 2022
The NIH faced backlash nearly 20 years ago when 916 current and former NIH researchers were accused. collected Annual royalty payments average $9,700 and you could receive up to $150,000. According to From a 2005 Associated Press report.
The NIH also obtained more than $325 million in royalties from organizations in 31 countries, according to documents obtained by Open the Books. One of these companies is run by the Chinese government and is working with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), documents show.
The complaint states that PHRA issued five separate FOIAs to the NIH and NIAID regarding communications regarding Fauci.
“There is significant public interest in understanding the potential conflicts of interest involved in royalty payments to NIH scientists for their contributions to scientific research and development,” the FOIA states.
FOIA requested emails, text messages, calendar entries, call logs, and chat and meeting records. But HHS failed to send a “final response” to the group’s request, violating FOIA’s “timeliness requirements,” the lawsuit alleges. (Related: Exclusive: New documents reveal Biden administration knew Fauci’s agency was lying to cover up dog torture experiments)
Fauci declined to answer Dr. Paul’s question about whether he receives drug royalties from the companies he oversees funding.
So the answer is almost certainly yes, and Mr. Fauci received a kickback for transferring funds to a company that paid him for his side job.
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.today (@JordanSchachtel) June 16, 2022
In January, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul announced the Royalty Transparency Act, which would require certain government employees (including members of public health advisory committees) to submit reports containing information about royalties. introduced. received.
“Given taxpayer trust in public health officials has plummeted, you would think the NIH would be doing everything it could to demonstrate good faith,” PHRA Director Martin Hoyt said in a press release. said. “This disdain for oversight and transparency, personified by Dr. Fauci, is clearly endemic to this agency. Sen. Paul’s bill cannot pass very quickly.”
Paul previously sparred with Fauci, demanding answers about whether members of the FDA’s vaccine committee receive royalties from drug companies.
“The royalty issue represents a large part of what is wrong with the public health bureaucracy,” Hoyt said in a statement to the Caller. “The pandemic has exposed HHS’s systemic arrogance and disregard for transparency. Decades of loyalty avoidance will do nothing to restore trust.” (Related article: ‘Nothing is going to make it better’: Fauci expresses shock at ‘level of pain’ during hearing)
BREAKING: Moderna’s CEO tells Sen. Rand Paul that the company paid $400 million in royalties to the NIH last year. pic.twitter.com/wNgCuMEh9O
— Te𝕏asLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) March 22, 2023
Fauci was one of the highest-paid employees in 2019, according to data from Forbes. Additionally, he received $15 million in taxpayer funds for a personal security detail, according to FOIA documents obtained by Open the Books and independent journalist Jordan Schachtel.
Fauci is also accused of using tax dollars to fund cruel animal experiments, according to the documents.
“Senator Paul’s bill is a much-needed step toward future accountability, but PHRA and others must continue to examine HHS’s pandemic response in hopes of not repeating its mistakes,” Hoyt said in Kohler. told the paper.
