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Topline
Dr. Anthony Fauci is testifying before a Senate committee Wednesday morning where he will be questioned by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., days after Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s diaries that have stirred outrage among critics who have accused him of an obsession with fame and of contradicting himself during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Update: Fauci pleads the Fifth.)
Sen. Rand Paul released more than 1,000 pages of diary entries he says were written by Dr. Anthony Fauci between 2019 and 2022. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Paul released more than 1,000 pages this past weekend of what he says are near-daily diaries Fauci kept while in government service during the COVID-19 pandemic, which Paul claims shows what Fauci “wrote privately and what he told the country are two different stories.”
Paul, who has long been a Fauci critic, is set to question him once again at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing Wednesday morning, which could be the latest in a series of contentious exchanges between the two that date back to the early days of the pandemic.
In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, Paul said he will question Fauci about “gain-of-function research”—a type of medical research Paul has accused the National Institutes of Health of funding in Wuhan, China, where the first cases of the virus were reported—as well as an alleged “COVID-19 cover-up” and his pardon by former President Joe Biden.
Paul said on Fox Business’ “Mornings with Maria” last week he doesn’t “expect [Fauci] to be honest, he hasn’t been honest in the last six years,” warning it “will be a crime if he lies to us.”
Another member of the Senate Homeland Security committee, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said earlier this week he does not “expect to get much out of” Fauci during the hearing, adding he will ask questions about what he called a “miserably failed response to COVID.”
what happened at wednesday’s hearing?
Fauci pleaded his Fifth Amendment right on Wednesday and declined to answer questions, citing Paul’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.” In a brief opening statement, Fauci accused Paul of making “repeated slanderous comments about me” and of having an “unhinged obsession with me,” adding it “pains” him to decline to answer questions given his “decades-long record of cooperating with Congress.” Paul, after asking Fauci a string of questions, said it is “against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress,” alleging there will be “repercussions” for Fauci’s refusal to testify. Paul also ordered security to escort one of Fauci’s lawyers out of the room after he spoke without being recognized by the chair.
Critics Accuse Fauci Of An Obsession With Fame
Many of Fauci’s critics have accused the infectious disease expert—who was thrust into the national spotlight in 2020 while leading Trump’s COVID-19 task force—of being consumed with his sudden fame while tasked with pandemic response efforts. In a May 2020 entry, Fauci wrote the “situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable,” saying he may be “the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable person in the world,” citing a front-page Washington Post article and magazine profiles about him. “Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me,” Fauci wrote in April 2020, also noting in June 2020 he was “invited to appear on Dancing with the Stars – no thanks!” Fauci also wrote of the various merchandise bearing his name and face that popped up during the height of his fame, which he said included “bottle openers, magnets and mugs” as well as more bizarre items like “prayer candles depicting ‘St. Fauci’” and a replica of his high school basketball jersey. “The ‘swag’ around me is getting really ridiculous,” Fauci wrote, adding, “Geeeez!! I do not like this one bit.”
Fauci Accused Of Contradictory Public And Private Statements
Some critics have pointed out apparently contradictory statements Fauci made in public and private. Some pointed to a 2022 interview Fauci gave where he said he had “nothing to do” with school closures during the pandemic, whereas a diary entry from March 2020 says he “convinced” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio “based on what I was saying publicly and my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools,” also saying “he should close the bars and restaurants in NYC.” Later in that diary entry, Fauci writes he “had a similar call with Ann O’Leary,” then-chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said Newsom “decided to close the schools in California as well as the bars and restaurants” based on Fauci’s television appearances. Paul, in a post on X, said Fauci was “giddy” over “‘convincing’ mayors to shut down schools.”
chief critics
Fox News contributor Paul Mauro said Fauci was like a high school nerd who “all of a sudden was the homecoming king,” while Fox News host Emily Compagno said Fauci’s diaries revealed he was “blatantly self obsessed,” according to The Daily Beast. Billionaire Elon Musk criticized Fauci on X on Monday, first writing, “Fauci smelled it and he also dealt it,” before responding to Paul’s post asking whether Fauci should “be held accountable” for his alleged “role in the origins of COVID,” writing, “Yes.” (Fauci mentions Musk in his diary, writing in December 2022 the billionaire “has started to viciously attack me with tweets on Twitter,” citing a post Musk made saying his “pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”) Some of Paul’s Republican colleagues criticized Fauci, including Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., who said in a post on X Fauci “lied and destroyed lives” and “belongs in prison,” while Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, tweeted Monday: “Fauci’s lies and arrogance resulted in death, bankruptcy, & misery. He must be held accountable.”
What Did Fauci Say About Trump In His Diary Entries?
Several of Fauci’s diary entries are fiercely critical of Trump, whom Fauci portrays as uninformed and ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic. On multiple occasions, Fauci described Trump’s comments about the coronavirus in meetings and in public addresses as “rambling,” including one meeting in March 2020 where Fauci said Trump kept getting off track, talking about TV ratings “and virtually everything else as I was trying to keep him on track (with the help of the VP).” In April, Fauci wrote Trump’s “press briefings are a total S— Show with POTUS rambling.” Later in the year, as the presidential election neared, Fauci wrote Trump was “out of control” and a “total embarrassment,” saying he was “on the campaign trail spewing nonsense.” Fauci even admitted he framed his advice to Trump on COVID-19 through the lens of reelection, writing in February 2020 he told Trump “his chances for re-election might be more damaged if he downplayed the potential spread of virus in the USA,” even if taking the virus more seriously early on meant it would temporarily hurt the stock market. In that instance, and several others, Fauci describes how Trump ignored his advice. “I thought that he heard what I said, but the next day, he again underplayed” the virus, Fauci wrote in February. In another instance, Fauci wrote Trump was “incorrigible,” saying the president misrepresented data during a speech to try and get people to take the virus seriously.
tangent
Fauci also sharply criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who rose to national prominence for opposing public health restrictions during the pandemic, labeling him “a complete disgrace” in an August 2021 entry. “He is blocking the local authorities from mandating masks in various locations including schools. He is doing this while at the same time Florida is virtually on fire with surging cases,” Fauci wrote. DeSantis called Fauci’s comments a “Badge of honor!” in a tweet Monday.
key background
Paul has long accused Fauci of covering up the origins of the COVID-19 virus, which Fauci has consistently denied. In a 2021 hearing, Paul accused the National Institutes of Health of funding research conducted in a lab in Wuhan, China, where the first cases of COVID-19 were detected, suggesting the U.S. government could be responsible if the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak is true. Fauci, in response, said Paul is “entirely and completely incorrect that the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” Paul, at a hearing a year later, cited an email exchange that he claimed showed Fau
