Empower Oversight Files Appeal of NIH’s Responses to FOIA Request Regarding Dr. Fauci’s Security Detail

August 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Empower Oversight filed an appeal to inadequate responses from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning the tax dollars spent on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s 24-hour security detail provided by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The public has a right to know, and the NIH has an obligation to be transparent about how taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Records provided thus far by the NIH indicated that there are more responsive documents that have been withheld. Two Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) involving NIH and HHS-OIG refer to monthly billing reports that would be vital to understanding how many resources are being diverted from HHS-OIG’s oversight and anti-fraud mission to round-the-clock security for Dr. Fauci.

The initial request was filed in November of last year with the HHS-OIG, seeking records back to April 2020 relating to the security detail and six HHS-OIG agents reportedly assigned to Dr. Fauci. A follow-up filed in January this year with the NIH noted NIH’s failure to acknowledge a referral of Empower Oversight’s FOIA request to NIH by HHS-OIG.

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