Did Fauci REALLY call Senator Roger Marshall a MORON? Hot mic moment goes viral

A day after Dr Anthony Fauci was "exposed" by Project Veritas, the infectious disease expert is back in the news following a tense hearing in the US Senate. Fauci, along with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, appeared before the Senate Health Committee to defend the Biden administration's response to Covid-19, when he got into a tense exchange with Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), ending with Fauci appearing to say "what a moron."

As the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and America's top infectious disease expert, Fauci has been in the firing line since the start of the pandemic. In the past, he's clashed with Senator Ted Cruz, after the controversial Senator called for Fauci to be prosecuted in late November 2021. He's also been repeatedly targeted by Sen. Rand Paul, especially over Fauci's alleged support for "gain of function research" with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 

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Paul and Fauci sparred once again at the Senate hearing on January 11, 2022, with Fauci accusing the Senator of attacking him for "political gain" and "distorting everything", while inspiring "crazies" to kill him. But, that wasn't even the most news-worthy exchange of the day. Instead, a clip from Fauci's spar with Marshall is now making waves, especially after a hot-mic moment in the end.

 

Did Fauci really call Marshall a moron?

During the contentious hearing, Marshall asked Fauci to make his financial disclosures public, accusing Fauci of possible insider trading. Fauci snapped back, "'I don't understand why you're asking me that question. My financial disclosure is public knowledge and has been so for the last 37 years or so." As with all public officials barring Donald Trump during his presidency, Fauci has annual revealed his financial disclosures as the law dictates.

Despite that, Marshall continued to attack Fauci, adding, "But the big tech giants are doing an incredible job of keeping it from being public. We'll continue to look for it. Where would we find it?" By this time, clearly frustrated, Fauci responded, "All you have to do is ask for it. You're so misinformed. It's extraordinary." At the end of the exchange, Fauci was heard saying, "What a moron. Jesus Christ," into a hot microphone.

He didn't shy away from the comments either, later appearing on 'All In With Chris Hayes' and saying, "He was totally implying that. He made the statement that ‘We can’t get your financial statement.’ It was stunning to me that a United States senator doesn’t realize that my financial statement is public knowledge. It was just like, ‘Where have you been?’" In response, Marshall simply claimed his office couldn't find Fauci's financial disclosures and added, "Calling me a moron during a Senate hearing may have alleviated the stress of the least trusted bureaucrat in America, but it didn’t take away from the facts."

 

'The man does not lie'

On social media though, there appeared to be a lack of sympathy for the Senator. Users applauded Fauci, with comments such as "Dr. Fauci caught on a hot mic, after Republican Senator Roger Marshall said he couldn’t find Fauci’s publicly available and easily locatable financial disclosures: “What a moron. Jesus Christ." He speaks for a nation." Another user trolled, "Fauci calling Sen. Marshall a moron is unacceptable. Sen. Marshall is a *f-----g* moron." One person slammed, "Hearing Dr.Fauci call a Republican senator a "moron" is the kind of truth I'm here for. The man does not lie. These motherf-----s are STUPID."

 

Commentator Bryan Tyler Cohen tweeted, "After Roger Marshall (R) spends his allotted time whining that he can't find Dr. Fauci's (publicly-available) financial disclosures, Dr. Fauci channels all of us with his response: "What a moron. Jesus Christ."" One Democratic politician said, "BREAKING: Dr. Fauci was heard muttering, "What a moron!" on his mic after a GOP Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) asked to see Dr. Fauci's ALREADY public financial disclosures. Who agrees with Dr. Fauci?" Another person mocked, "Dr. Fauci called Senator Roger Marshall a moron. As we all know, Dr. Fauci strives for accuracy."

 

While Fauci's financial disclosures aren't exactly available on Google, anyone can request it via a Freedom of Information Act request, which Center for Public Integrity reporter Liz Essley Whyte did in 2020. In January 2021, Forbes also obtained Fauci's financial disclosures to report on his massive $417,608 income in 2019.