Rand Paul Releases Anthony Fauci Diaries Before Senate Hearing

Senator Rand Paul, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released 1,141 pages of private diaries belonging to former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci. The documents, spanning December 2019 to December 2022, precede a July 29 Senate hearing for which Paul issued a unilateral subpoena after Fauci declined a voluntary appearance.

The journals suggest a discrepancy between Fauci's public assertions and his private views on the origins of COVID-19. Entries from January 2020 indicate Fauci believed the first infection was not connected to the Wuhan market, while a February 1 entry notes that only two of twelve researchers on a conference call supported a natural explanation. Paul argues these records prove Fauci suppressed alternative opinions and contradictions regarding the plausibility of a laboratory leak.

Beyond the pandemic's origins, the diaries detail Fauci's volatile relationship with Donald Trump and his mutual hostility toward Rand Paul, whom Fauci described as "Total nut cakes." The writings also chronicle Fauci's reflections on his global celebrity status and private conflicts with the White House over testing and treatments. Other officials have weighed in on the controversy, with former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb criticizing Fauci's suppression of alternative opinions and CIA whistleblower James Erdman III claiming Fauci's role in a cover-up was intentional.