During seven hours of questioning in a landmark lawsuit alleging the federal government colluded with social media companies to censor speech, Dr. Anthony Fauci confirmed the communist Chinese government convinced him to press for the crippling COVID-19 lockdowns, according to attorneys and plaintiffs who were at the deposition Wednesday.
Fauci, who is retiring as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after 38 years, also was unable to cite any study backing his sudden change of position on the effectiveness of masks in curbing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The court ordered that the deposition be sealed. However, California physician Aaron Kheriaty, who is one of the plaintiffs, reported via Twitter that Fauci confirmed NIAID deputy Cliff Lane convinced him to press for the lockdowns after returning in February 2020 from a trip to China with a World Health Organization delegation.
