Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Saturday that he has never been "muzzled" by the White House after reports said all government medical professionals would need to seek approval to speak to the media about the coronavirus.



The New York Times reported this week that Dr. Fauci "has told associates that the White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance."



"I’ve never been muzzled and I’ve been doing this since Reagan." Doctor Fauci responded. "That was a real misrepresentation of what happened."



"I’m just going to ask you directly about this with regards to the flow of information, from the very beginning, you received a lot of criticism regarding that,” asked an NBC reporter at Saturday's press conference. "In particular, about Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is well-renowned in contagious diseases and there were reports out there that he was being muzzled. Can you tell us that this widely-respected expert Dr. Fauci will have every opportunity to tell us the truth?"



"Well, that’s a very dishonest question because he has had that," President Trump interrupted before turning to Fauci.