White House Seeks To Muzzle NIH Virus Expert Fauci

A top expert on viruses in the administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been told by the White House not to speak publicly about the emerging coronavirus outbreak without permission, according to a report Thursday in the New York Times.

Fauci directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, an agency within the National Institutes of Health.

The directive comes as a part of a broader effort from Vice President Mike Pence, who President Donald Trump has picked to oversee the administration’s crisis response, the Times found. Pence is reportedly trying to “tighten control” of the administration’s messaging about the outbreak, which thus far has been contradictory and scattershot. Continue reading.