Rand Paul Releases Anthony Fauci Diaries Before Senate Hearing

Senator Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released over 1,100 pages of private diary entries from former health official Anthony Fauci spanning 2019 to 2022. The documents, discovered on government servers by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., precede a subpoenaed hearing scheduled for July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

The diaries reveal discrepancies between Fauci's public statements and private beliefs. Entries from early 2020 suggest Fauci privately questioned the natural origin of COVID-19, noting that the first infection was not connected to the Wuhan wet market. Paul also alleges that Fauci's private estimates of the virus's case fatality rate were lower than the figures he provided under oath to Congress.

Internally, the journals document a volatile relationship with Donald Trump, whom Fauci described as "rambling," "crazy," and "incompetent." The entries also detail Fauci's reflections on his own international celebrity and his hostility toward Senator Paul, whom he called "Total nut cakes." Conversely, the documents show a close personal friendship between Fauci and CNN anchor Jake Tapper.

While Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Fauci in early 2025, Paul has referred him to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution. In response, over 155 scientists issued an open letter condemning the "vilification and harassment" of American scientists by the current administration.