A federal watchdog group filed a complaint Wednesday urging the Office of Special Counsel to investigate statements made by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci to see if they violated government rules on political speech made by federal employees.
Protect the Public’s Trust, an ethics watchdog, alleges certain comments Fauci made during interviews are in violation of the Hatch Act, a congressional act that limits federal government employees from engaging in certain political activities using their official authority.
The group said that four days before the November 2020 presidential election, Fauci made a series of statements to The Washington Post that “may have crossed the line into prohibited political speech,” which “left little doubt regarding which campaign he supported and the dire public health implications associated with choosing one candidate over another.”