CSPAN: Senator Paul and Dr. Fauci Clash Over Research Funding of Wuhan Lab

Senator Paul and Dr. Fauci Clash Over Research Funding of Wuhan Lab

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, have a heated exchange about the funding of gain of function research at the Wuhan Virology Institute in China and whether he supports it. 
Dr. Fauci denies that there was funding of the research, saying, "We have not funded gain of function research on this virus in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. No matter how many times you say it, it didn't happen."

UPDATE 1: #HATJ Update 5-11-2021

Heather has been released from the Dublin facility. There were paperwork glitches on the way out of Dublin, and also upon her arrival in Tacoma.  They were not expecting her in Tacoma, so someone in the BOP didn't communicate she was being released. 

Denice tracked down Heather and called her via the staff.  Denice said the Feds were investigating an issue with one of the record keepers at Dublin. Many prisoners have been held who should have been released because of this clerk (who may have been on the take). This person was apparently adding rule infraction points and extending sentences by altering prisoner records.  I don't have many details and what I have may not be the complete story.  I'll let Heather relate the details of what happened when she's settled in. 

The debit card they gave her didn't work at first, but that must have been resolved as she took a taxi from the airport.  Everything about her trial and imprisonment has been a little odd.

Heather was supposed to go home last night but had to wait for the paperwork to get straightened out. At least she's out of Dublin and in a safe place for the moment.  And her family can visit.

Update 1: 

I got three phone calls from Heather today, one quite brief the other two very long.  She shared a lot of details with me about her last three years.  I was feeling most of what she went through the last three years but didn't have the context to know what was causing those emotions.  I found the first 18 months of her sentence the most difficult, somehow I learned to cope with the intuitive data I was getting and push on through it.  When you work with someone as long as I have, you get tuned to them.  Same thing has happened with Denice, if I just think of Denice she will either call or write me.  

What phone calls she was allowed from prison I wanted her to use with her family. She couldn't say much on prison email because they do face retribution and recrimination by the staff.  There is no recourse for prisoners regardless of their innocence in the US Penal system.   She said "it is said 20% of the prison population should not be there", she said "the percentage is far higher than 20%".

It was very good to hear her voice again after all this time.   She is still in the halfway house, the paperwork snafu is being worked on and she'll be home once that is straightened out.   I think it will be within days. They didn't know she was coming.

She asked me to not publish what she shared about the last 3 years.  She said the particulars doing those things will "self implode with self disclosures", and that "it goes faster if it's not published first".   She did say over the last 3 years 1/3 of the prison management has been fired, quit or jailed. While they say they provide medical and dental care to prisoners, they in fact do not.  There are still scandals to come out, but that will happen organically.  She said if she has anything to say publicly on it she will make it clear when she wants it published.   I will honor her wishes in that regard.

Heather is happy, joyous, enjoying real food and a real bed.  She is unable to smoke cigarettes, it makes her ill now.  Her hair is now down to her waist, she joked she didn't like the idea of anyone holding sharp scissors behind her back in jail. She has seen her husband and youngest son, and hopefully will see the other 3 children (who are now over 6 feet tall!) soon.