Student Journalist Calls Fauci Testimony ’Slap in the Face’

A student journalist decried ex-NIAID Director Anthony Fauci’s refusal to testify despite his presidential pardon and previous promises of transparency.

Campus Reform correspondent Gregory Lyakhov went on Newsmax Wednesday after Fauci had pleaded the Fifth Amendment 111 times despite his presidential pardon. Lyakhov reminded listeners of how many years of schooling and social interaction his generation permanently lost because of COVID lockdown regulations that turned out to be completely arbitrary.

The Newsmax host appeared to be referring not just to Fauci but to President Donald Trump, given that Fauci sneered at Trump in his personal journal logs, and Trump has since grown understandably hostile toward the bureaucrat who dispensed such awful advice for years. “So, Greg, I want to talk to you about this. I mean, how do these personal reflections — how do you think the public sees that? How do you think it impacts public trust in science and messaging coming from health officials? He made it seem like it was all about him,” the Newsmax host asked. As a personal comment, I would say that Fauci himself did more to undermine Americans’ faith in scientific experts than anyone else. And his journal revealing how many times he knew he was lying about vaccines and other issues just cemented everyone’s skepticism.

August 13, 2022: we cannot admit that the shots don't work because that would undermine our policy to force people to get them. pic.twitter.com/9MrU7EKsWo
— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreytucker) July 31, 2026

Lyakhov answered, “First off, I want to say that Fauci's testimony was a slap in the face to students like me who had to spend years of lost schooling, of lost social interactions and development, only to be told that our experiences were not even worth answering for. He didn't even provide any explanation for that. This is just horrible.”

Many of us who were students during the COVID era have never forgiven Fauci, either. I lost a Rome semester I'd been planning for years. My friends got no graduation with family and friends. My brother lost his football season. I know kids who were toddlers then who still struggle with basic human interaction because their most formative years happened around adults terrified of contact and wearing masks on their faces.

Lyakhov said, "Look, I was in sixth grade when COVID started, and going to classes, seeing my friends, even getting lunch with them, going outside, all of that was replaced by Zoom classes where we learned nothing. That was our experience during COVID … these Zoom classes where we learned nothing in, and that was the replacement for two years of our development. We spent our time at home, scrolling through TikTok videos on our phones, and only to be told that Anthony Fauci eventually will resume our lives. It was crazy."

It was indeed. "This has affected our — my generation through social development and through our educational progression. But most of all, this really goes to show how much control the government — is when the government abuses its power, which is exactly what Fauci did," Lyakhov ended. This is precisely why Fauci needs to face severe penalties.

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