By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-14 13:52:01 | Updated at 2024-11-22 03:22:01
1 week ago
The government’s former top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci, often maligned for supporting stringent Covid isolation measures, was given a whopping $15 million - worth of private security after retirement from Jan. 4, 2023, to Sept. 20, 2024.
Dr Fauci, who headed the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases until his retirement in December 2022, had a publicly funded chauffeur and a dedicated security team of US Marshals, according to Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by independent journalist Jordan Schachtel and Open The Books.
During this time, these same services also managed his personal protection while he was still a government official.
The former official has been subject to death threats since the start of the pandemic and frequent public criticism, which he and other officials argue merit heightened security.
When Dr Fauci retired, he was the highest-paid public servant on the books, with a record $480,654 salary. For comparison, the president’s salary is $400,000.
Since retiring, he has published a bestselling memoir about his career in public service, which spans from his work during the AIDS crisis in the 1990s to Covid starting in 2020. His book deal was secured for just under $5 million.
According to Open the Books: ‘Up until at least late September, this agreement between the two government agencies has left the American taxpayer on the hook for the costs attached to Dr. Fauci’s lifestyle, which included a publicly-funded chauffeur and a fully staffed U.S. Marshals security detail.’
Dr Fauci said last year that his security detail was necessary because ‘I am a big big target of the extreme radical right in this country.’
The former official has faced death threats and public criticism since the pandemic, prompting calls for heightened security
The doctor has had a target on his back since the onset of Covid in March 2020.
Open the Books added: ‘It is unclear how unusual the arrangement between Health and Human Services and the U.S. Marshals Service may be. We could find no other cases of a former federal employee receiving this level of protection.’
His early missteps, including discouraging the use of masks only to walk that back about a month later, and his advocacy for draconian lockdown measures that saw millions of children shift to virtual learning, have garnered widespread criticism and violent threats.
He added: ‘I get so many threats. Some of them are credible threats of violence … that I have to be walking around with federal marshals protecting me, which is completely crazy.’
Back then, the monthly cost of his security detail amounted to $1 million in taxpayer dollars.
According to a report obtained by CBS News's 60 Minutes, two former national security advisers from the Trump administration were given Secret Service protection after leaving the White House due to potential threats from Iran. The total cost to taxpayers for the security detail of both individuals exceeded $12 million.
Fauci exits ABC studios while being escorted by his US Marshal security detail after appearing Thursday on 'The View.' The Marshal can be clearly identified by his lapel pin
Fauci, who has an estimated $11 million net worth, is constantly surrounded by US Marshals whether he is at home or going to TV studios to film interviews
His security detail began winding down in June, as the death threats levied against him have hardly died down.
In 2020, when he was more well-known than ever, Fauci reported never answering the phone or the door out of safety following months of threats.
He told PBS: ‘We don't get any mail at the house. You feel like you have to be aware all the time that there's a possible danger.’
The report says it’s unclear how unprecedented the arrangement is but notes it ‘could find no other cases of a former federal employee receiving this level of protection.’
