A reasonable question is whether the premature presale excuse was created as a cover story:
No official explanation was offered by either company [Amazon or Barns & Nobel]. Fauci’s publisher, National Geographic Books, said in a statement that the book was taken down because it had been “prematurely posted for pre-sale.”
They also said the book was being developed “in connection” with the upcoming National Geographic documentary about Fauci, and that he would not be earning any profits or royalties from it.
First off, if you look at the email, he didn’t ask Fauci for anything. He gave a bullet point of his observations at the field level. In Fauci’s reply, he talked about the POTUS/DoD releasing PPE in general, not to anyone specific.
Let’s say that he did specifically ask for help in getting PPE. Asking an NIH official for help in getting PPE is illegal? Asking your friend who is an NIH official for help in getting PPE is illegal? If it’s not illegal to request PPE from an NIH official why does that become illegal if the official is a friend?
Where is this “favor” component? Is asking an NIH official for assistance in PPE above and beyond what is usual? If I email the NIH and ask for help in getting PPE can I be charged with a crime? What is that crime?
Fauci didn’t give PPE to his “buddy.” Fauci’s “buddy” asking for PPE is not illegal. If there was a formal process to allocate PPE for individual requests and it was used for his “buddy,” would that be illegal? This is all hypothetical musing about a an illegal response that didn’t happen.
Sure. Someone simply asking a government official for assistance, be it a friend or complete stranger, is not illegal. The assistance could be illegal if not given properly. The person asking for assistance could make the request illegal by placing threats, bribes, etc. Asking for assistance without qualifiers is not.
Those were my words. Like I said, asking a connection for help is not illegal. Or is there something in the first two sentences of the three you quoted that is illegal?