Debbie Lesko, Anthony Fauci, and the "Illusion of Proof"

Anthony Fauci, 2020

If you make a claim, it is your job to prove it. Period.

Although often uninformative, congressional hearings certainly get interesting. During a hearing on June 3, 2024, Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko said that former CDC physician Dr. Anthony Fauci had suppressed evidence that the coronavirus epidemic started with a leak from a Chinese laboratory. Fauci responded:

“You said about four or five things, Congresswoman, that were just not true.”

Lesko said:

“Well, we have emails to prove it.”

Fauci retorted:

“But you don’t!”

Lesko’s conclusion?

“Thank you. And I yield back.”

Emails to prove Lesko’s point have yet to materialize. If Lesko had such emails, she surely would have produced them on the spot, or shortly thereafter. Instead, she meekly said, “And I yield back.”

Now, the House Committee did, in fact, publish some emails. They were not sent by or to Fauci. So, emails existed. Emails that proved her claims? Well, no. That is why it was so vital for Lesko to say, “We have emails to prove it:” for she does have emails (who doesn’t?), just not probative emails. She never quoted her supposed emails, which would quickly have shown their irrelevance. A stroke of vagueness, like a magician’s smoke. 

Debbie Lesko

Lesko’s bizarre interaction represents what communication scholar Barnet Baskerville has called “the illusion of proof.” That is, she created the impression that she could prove something. However, she offered no proof at all. This is different from presenting bad proof. The illusion of proof does not mean that Lesko made bad arguments or presented weak evidence. It means that she created the illusion that she was offering proof when she had none. After all, if she quoted the supposed emails, we could determine whether they supported her accusation or not. Unfortunately, they are only a mirage.

Indeed, illusory proof like Lesko misdirects the audience’s attention, just as magicians use smoke and mirrors to make the audience think they have seen something they have not. All too often, politicians create illusions with verbal smoke and imagined mirrors. In this case, Lesko tempted uncritical listeners to believe that she could prove that Fauci had suppressed critical information.

Earlier Post: Trump, the "China Virus," and the Art of Controlling the Agenda by Misdirection

The background here is that, during the congressional hearing, Republican members of Congress lambasted Fauci and spread various bizarre conspiracy theories. One can only speculate that their motive was to divert attention from Donald Trump’s inept response to the coronavirus. By shouting irrational claims, while giving the witness only moments to respond, they played to the more paranoid members of their voter base. They create the illusion that something is going on. In this case, the lab leak theory represents the dubious possibility that the coronavirus epidemic started in a Chinese laboratory, supported or encouraged by American officials.

Earlier Post: Trump Calls Coronavirus “Their New Hoax”

By creating an illusion, Lesko was doing nothing new. Illusory proof has long infested political discourse. In 1950, at the height of the Red Scare, Senator. Joseph McCarthy claimed that he had a list of 58 communists working in the State Department. The list never appeared. Baskerville himself shows how Nixon created illusions in his famous Checkers speech.

For their current conspiracy theory to work, Republicans would need to prove that the coronavirus had an unnatural origin, that it came from a Chinese laboratory, and that Fauci himself was in some way behind the scheme. The conspiracy theory falls apart if even one link breaks. Republicans appeared unable to prove any of the links. Lacking evidence, they manufacture the illusion of proof. Not bad proof. Not questionable proof. Instead, no proof at all. They created only a smoky image behind which lies no evidence whatsoever. Lesko said she has emails. If so, where are they? What do they say? Fauci made the perfect response: “You don’t!” He gave her the chance to produce her proof. He broke the illusion in two words.

Earlier Post: Dr. Fauci's Persuasive Methods: Stay Calm, Give Information, Stick to the Facts. Will That Work?

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P.S. Largely forgotten today, Barnet Baskerville was one of the most eminent communication scholars of the mid-twentieth century. More than almost any other researcher, Baskerville brought the field’s attention to the role that public oratory plays in constitutional government. His terrific article on “The Illusion of Proof” appeared in 1960 in Western Speech. Large research libraries can probably find it on a database.

By William D. Harpine

Copyright © 2024, William D. Harpine

Image of Debbie Lesko: Official Congressional portrait, cropped, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image of Anthony Fauci: Cropped from a White House photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons