Authored by James Bovard via The Brownstone Institute,
The exposure of the biggest scientific con of the century is now underway. But the question remains – will any politicians or government officials ever be held accountable for the devastation they brought upon the American people?
Back in early 2020, as the Covid pandemic began its devastating impact on America, federal bureaucrats and politicians were quick to suppress any notion that the pandemic may have originated from a Chinese government lab funded by US government agencies. Despite evidence suggesting otherwise, key Biden administration officials cleared the Chinese government of any blame, as revealed by the Wall Street Journal in a recent expose.
The FBI’s top expert, who concluded that the virus leaked from the lab, was hindered by the Biden administration and prevented from presenting his findings at a crucial White House meeting in August 2021. Similarly, three scientists at the National Center for Medical Intelligence, part of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, were silenced after reaching the same conclusion. An investigation by the Inspector General is currently underway to uncover the reasons behind this suppression. Furthermore, the Department of Energy also determined that Covid originated in a lab. In September 2023, a senior CIA analyst disclosed to a Congressional committee that six CIA analysts had been bribed by the agency to abandon their lab leak theory.
Despite the Chinese government initially acknowledging a pandemic in Wuhan in early 2020, they insisted that the virus came from a local marketplace rather than the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which had been conducting research on bats. However, the lead scientists involved in this research fell ill with Covid-19 symptoms before the Chinese government denied any responsibility. There was substantial evidence linking the virus to the lab, leading to a massive cover-up.
The Covid-19 outbreak triggered one of the most elaborate cover-ups in recent US history. The National Institute for Health had been funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a risky endeavor that aims to alter organisms genetically to facilitate virus spread across species. MIT professor Kevin Esvelt questioned the rationale behind such research, emphasizing the potential dangers it poses. The safety concerns were exacerbated by the poor safety record of the Wuhan Institute. Despite a confidential warning from the State Department about safety issues at the Wuhan labs studying bat Covid, the information was not made public until 2022.
At the onset of the pandemic in January 2020, top federal scientists feared the impact on their reputations. Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes for Health mentioned the need for a swift gathering of experts to counter conspiracy theories that could harm science and international relations. Ironically, these “conspiracy theories” were rooted in facts.
Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), swiftly mobilized a group of scientists to produce a paper supposedly disproving the lab leak theory. The Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, joined the cover-up with an op-ed signed by 27 scientists denouncing lab origin theories. The suppression of dissenting views was reinforced with accusations of racism against those suggesting the lab leak theory. The State Department’s Global Engagement Center even pressured Twitter to censor accounts questioning the lab origin theory.
Had the origins of Covid-19 been acknowledged as a massive government failure from the start, politicians and government scientists would have found it hard to portray themselves as saviors seizing control over daily life.
The NIH-funded virus served as a tool for politicians at all levels to exert dictatorial power in the name of saving lives. This led to the destruction of countless livelihoods by governors implementing extreme measures in response to Covid-19. The pandemic exposed the disconnect between people’s lives and the government’s actions, emphasizing the authoritarian tendencies that emerged.
A virus with a high survival rate was used as justification for authoritarian rule. Those who questioned the government narrative were labeled dissidents and silenced. Shutdown proponents invoked science like a religious doctrine to justify their actions, even though the science behind their decisions was often unreliable. The federal government emerged as a primary source of misinformation during the pandemic.
A century ago, historian Henry Adams remarked that politics is “the systematic organization of hatreds.” Covid-19 policies thrived on fear and anger, as politicians sought to vilify dissenters. When vaccine efficacy waned, Biden resorted to mandates, disregarding individual autonomy. The demonization of vaccine skeptics and the push for harsh penalties against dissenters reflected the toxic environment created by Covid-19 policies.
Fauci, a key figure in the pandemic response, justified mandates by claiming that average citizens lack the ability to make informed decisions. However, Congressional investigations revealed Fauci’s involvement in evading responsibility for the Wuhan lab debacle. Despite calls for accountability, Fauci dismissed criticisms as attacks on science itself, highlighting the dangers of concentrating power in secretive federal agencies.
On September 20, 2023, the Biden administration banned the Wuhan Institute of Virology from receiving US government funding for unauthorized gain-of-function experiments on bat coronaviruses. However, the administration failed to hold American scientists, institutions, or officials accountable for their role in the crisis.
Instead of celebrating Tony Fauci, the slogan “Your Government at Work” juxtaposed with a million American caskets encapsulates the grim reality of Covid-19.
An earlier version of this piece was published by The Libertarian Institute