A controversial doctor and vitamin salesman who's claimed that his supplements could cure AIDS has hired two former Republican members of Congress for work on COVID-19 therapies.
The Dr. Rath Research Institute entered into separate contracts with ex-Reps. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) and John Doolittle (R-Calif.), according to a pair of filings released over the weekend. The institute, founded by German-born physician Matthias Rath, touts nutritional supplements as a way to fight the current pandemic and lists their benefits over a potential coronavirus vaccine. Dr. Rath has previously made claims that nutritional supplements, which he also sells, could cure HIV/AIDS, cancer and other diseases.
Burton and Doolittle are no strangers to controversial causes. Both have registered as lobbyists for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, founded by the Church of Scientology. Burton is also a staunch anti-vaccination advocate who used his Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairmanship to push scientifically dubious links between vaccines and autism.
