For years, the men and women responsible for this nations’ disastrous COVID response have evaded the consequences they deserve. But the fog of confusion may finally be dissipating. The road to accountability is visible.

Dr. Anthony Fauci was the face of America’s pandemic response. His influence led to the draconian lockdowns, school closures, mask and distancing mandates and later the mass administration of experimental drugs by degree. All this showed blatant disregard for America’s “guaranteed” freedoms and encouraged a blind denial of truth.

He happened to keep a diary.

I am named in that diary more than 60 times. When I encouraged President Trump to keep schools open, Fauci called my beliefs a “real problem.” He said I “spew forth nonsense” and that the White House letting me explain my plans “borders on criminal.”

As the 350 million Americas who were subjected to Fauci’s policies know, it was, in fact, his efforts that were egregious failures. Along with his underling Dr. Deborah Birx, he created the most destructive, unethical public-health fiasco in modern history.

Fauci’s lockdowns failed and led to huge collateral damage. An estimated 1.6 million extra American deaths occurred from 2020-2023, compared to what would have happened if we had performed as well as Sweden — which did not institute massive lockdowns and school closures. And nearly a million more deaths are estimated to come over the next 15 years due to the economic shutdown caused by the lockdowns.

Children were among the most damaged victims. Besides severe educational losses, lockdowns caused spikes in anxiety, depression, drug abuse, self harm, eating disorders and teen suicides. Many of these youth are still yet to recover.

All this despite the fact that we knew children faced minimal risk of serious disease. Then there was delayed language development in toddlers, and skyrocketing child and spousal abuse. Many of these woes were worst among low-income families. By June 2020, 1 in 4 college-aged people were contemplating suicide.

Disregarding what Americans could see with their own eyes, the media elevated Fauci to rock-star status. They clung to an absurd, Kafkaesque hero-worship of the man who was destroying millions of lives. He accumulated dozens of national and international honors, awards and accolades, not to mention personal wealth, in celebration of his “accomplishment.”

At the same time that Fauci was pushing these sinful policies, I was advancing the alternative during spring and summer 2020 and then as adviser to the President in the White House: targeted protections. That meant increasing protection of the highest-risk people, reopening schools and businesses and allowing the low-risk population to reenter society, thus minimizing collateral destruction. That was rejected in task force meetings, despite existing evidence that months of lockdown-induced unemployment and foregone medical care had already lost substantial years of life.

The full scale of this destruction will take decades to measure.

Americans can thank Fauci and Birx for it.

When called to defend his decisions this past week, Fauci pled the Fifth. His refusal to testify cannot hide the facts.

Many vital revelations and admissions have come to light thanks to Sen. Rand Paul’s investigations into Fauci. We know now that Fauci personally persuaded government officials to close schools and businesses, despite denying that responsibility. In places where there is community spread, “CLOSE the bars, restaurants and places of congregations,” he wrote. “Close schools.”

Then, in October 2020, when he could no longer deny the truth, Fauci admitted I was correct in saying that school children weren’t driving the outbreak. But even then he did little to reopen schools. That allowed widespread harms to continue for years more. He also worked behind the scenes with the press to prevent written and verbal criticisms of his policies.

Fauci’s denial of evidence against his policies is inexcusable. So too is the behavior of the sycophantic media that turned him into a saint. Together, they abused the nation’s trust. With their suffocation of debate and refusal to admit failure, Fauci and the media destroyed trust in public health and science, and trust among our fellow citizens.

That trust is essential to the function of any free and diverse society.

Is there any value beyond political theater from this awful spectacle, a debacle created by the unsafe concentration of political power in one man’s hands?

Yes. There is much to appreciate here.

First, Fauci’s hearing showed that Congress is performing well one of its key responsibilities: informing the public with transparency on government actions. Because admissions of error by those in power remain extremely rare, the public still has little understanding of the motivation and outcomes of Fauci’s prescriptions. But Congress is working toward that discovery.

Second, at least some feeling of validation was given to the millions of ordinary Americans who had the courage and common sense to say no, to think for themselves, to fight and speak out for their own children. These brave citizens acted even when the risk was job-loss and ostracization.