Member of WHO investigative team thanked 'brave' Anthony Fauci for publicly supporting 'bat-to-human' spillover theory

This certainly is interesting. In an email retrieved via FOIA request, we see Dr. Anthony Fauci in April of 2020 thanking researcher Peter Daszak for his kind note. Daszak had thanked “Tony” for “publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”

“From my perspective,” he continued, “your comments are brave, and coming from your trusted voice, will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus’ origins.”

OK, we laughed too at the “trusted voice” part.

In the letter, Daszak also noted that Fox News reporters at the previous night’s presidential press briefing had “publicly targeted” him as the recipient of a grant.

Peter Daszak, who was deeply involved both in Wuhan coronavirus research & in misleading the public about the likelihood of a lab leak, thanked Fauci for helping "dispel the myths" around COVID origins and blamed Fox News for targeting his grant. From the @JasonLeopold FOIA batch pic.twitter.com/LgloFVaFZX

— Sarah Westwood (@sarahcwestwood) June 1, 2021

Tablet magazine reported in February that Daszak had been one of the international members of the WHO team sent to investigate the lab theory:

Thus, the investigation went well for the Chinese government, and they made sure it did: It was delayed for a year, during which time viral evidence and witnesses disappeared. It only lasted two weeks (the committee was in quarantine two weeks), only several hours were spent in the lab in question, asking questions, not looking at samples or doing forensics, and the itinerary was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, as, for that matter, was the committee composition, which included 17 Chinese members. “International members” included the very high profile researcher Peter Daszak, who himself closely collaborated with, and passed funding to, the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), and who was thus basically investigating and absolving himself. He praised those there for allowing a “Frank, open discussion.”