Trump's latest 'vengeful spectacle' alarms analyst as war on America's doctors intensifies

President Donald Trump's administration is ramping up its war against America's doctors with a "vengeful" spectacle that alarmed one political analyst.

Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration has gone after doctors, virologists, and scientists associated with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a lab run by former White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci for around 40 years. Actions the Trump administration has taken include sending the FBI to arrest an expert in the flu and indicting a coronavirus researcher in Detroit.

Daniel Engber, a senior editor at The Atlantic, noted in a new article on Tuesday that the moves also share one other thing in common -- they are all part of the Trump administration's attempt to prove the lab-leak theory correct. That theory suggests the coronavirus pandemic originated in a lab in China, a claim several Trump allies have promoted.

The prosecutions also suggest that "repercussions may yet extend to other scientists."

"In the absence of that administrative work and with little progress being made on the various biosafety laws that have been proposed in Congress, the nation has been left with just the vengeful spectacle of lab-leak prosecutions," Engber noted. "In effect, research policy is being handled by the Department of Justice. America’s doctor may soon be dragged out to testify once more: The science that he championed appears to be unfettered; the scientists he funded are at risk of ending up in chains."