More than 155 scientists, physicians and public health advocates have signed an open letter calling for an end to what they describe as the “vilification and harassment of many American scientists” by the Trump administration and its allies. The letter was published one day before Dr Anthony Fauci, the former top US government science adviser, is scheduled to appear at a high-profile hearing in the US Congress after being compelled to testify by the Republican-controlled Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee.
The signatories dismissed allegations against the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) director as “baseless”. Dr Fauci, 85, who helped guide the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to testify under subpoena on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the origins of the virus and whether federal officials misled the public and Congress about the source of the outbreak – a claim made for years by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who chairs the committee.
The letter alleges that the Trump administration and its congressional allies are “waging a war on individual scientists, through public harassment, arrests, criminal indictment and ongoing threats of prosecution”. It states that several scientists have come under scrutiny, but Dr Fauci is “the most prominent target”. The charges against him, including suggestions that he covered up the origins of Covid or that his research sparked the pandemic, are described as “absurd” with “no credible evidence”.
The letter notes that Dr Fauci and his family have endured a “five-year period of harassment and threats of violence”. It emphasises his over 60 years of public service, leading the US through epidemics of HIV, Covid, Ebola and Sars 1, and urges elected representatives to “stop these witch-hunts and support good public health and scientific practices”.
Ahead of the hearing, Senator Paul released thousands of pages of Dr Fauci’s diary entries from the pandemic. Dr Fauci left government in 2022 and has said research “strongly suggested” a natural origin for the coronavirus, though he keeps an “open mind” about a possible lab leak. Despite a pre-emptive pardon issued by Joe Biden, Senator Paul has referred Dr Fauci to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution.
