Newly released entries covering December 2019 through December 2022 document Dr. Anthony Fauci’s private reactions to praise, media attention and celebrity status while he helped lead the federal response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has released a collection of private diary entries kept by Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that the records reveal a sharp contrast between Fauci’s public image as a scientific authority and his private focus on political praise, favorable press and growing celebrity.
Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made the material public as part of the panel’s continuing oversight investigation into the federal pandemic response. The document, titled “Tony’s Diary Package,” contains entries spanning December 2019 through December 2022.
2026.07.24 Tonys Diary Package by yourNEWS Media
The records describe Fauci’s participation in White House Coronavirus Task Force meetings, congressional briefings, scientific consultations, public health discussions and extensive media appearances. They also repeatedly document his reactions to compliments, personal recognition and the attention he received as COVID-19 spread across the United States and the death toll increased.
Paul announced the release through a series of statements on X, saying the diary had emerged through his investigation.
“My investigation uncovered that Anthony Fauci kept a diary. What he wrote privately and what he told the country are two different stories. Today I’m releasing his entries from December 2019 through December 2022,” Paul said.
The senator also accused Fauci of directing staff members to destroy federal records, an allegation expected to become part of Fauci’s upcoming testimony before the committee.
“While publicly posturing as a champion of science, he was privately directing his staff to destroy federal records. This is a blatant violation, a betrayal of the public trust, and further proof that Fauci engaged in a coverup from the very beginning of the pandemic. I’m going to ask him about this when he goes under oath this Wednesday,” Paul said.
The diary begins during the earliest phase of the outbreak, when the virus was still commonly identified as 2019-nCoV. Fauci recorded meetings concerning evacuations, quarantines, rising infections and the possibility of declaring a public health emergency, but several entries also emphasize the praise he received from political leaders and colleagues during those discussions.
In one account of a White House task force meeting in the Situation Room, Fauci wrote that President Donald Trump described him publicly as “really a famous guy… the smartest, knowledgeable and outstanding persons he knows.”
Fauci recorded that he was “surprised and very pleased” by Trump’s remarks and “stunned and impressed” by the response from deputy officials in the room. The meeting itself involved expanding case numbers, quarantine policy and evacuations tied to the developing outbreak.
After congressional briefings on the government’s response, Fauci documented praise from lawmakers, including former Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who called him a “national hero” and said she “felt safe in his arms.”
The entries also show Fauci closely following favorable news coverage and expressions of public appreciation. He cited positive profiles in Politico and The New York Times and described an “amazing outflow of thanks from hundreds of people.”
At one point, Fauci wrote that he felt “pretty safe” because of the level of public support surrounding him, even as infections continued to rise.
By March 10, 2020, Fauci viewed his visibility as extending well beyond the United States.
“For better or worse, I am becoming an international celebrity. Calls from all over the world,” he wrote.
Later entries from March and April 2020 cataloged what Fauci characterized as public “adoration.” He noted reports about “grandmothers who have crushes,” petitions seeking to name him “Sexiest Man Alive,” stories about his college basketball career, television spoofs and merchandise created in his likeness.
The diary also references Fauci bobbleheads, beers carrying his name, an Instagram Live appearance with NBA star Steph Curry and coverage of public “thirst” and fandom in publications including The Atlantic. The attention arrived while Americans were dying in growing numbers and many elderly residents were isolated from relatives under pandemic restrictions.
Paul’s committee is examining broader questions involving the government’s pandemic response, including the origin of COVID-19, federal support for gain-of-function research, the preservation of official records and Fauci’s conduct while serving as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The senator subpoenaed Fauci in June 2026 after the former federal health official withdrew from an earlier voluntary agreement to appear before the committee.
Fauci is scheduled to testify under oath at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 29, 2026, during a public hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Paul has indicated that the hearing will address alleged discrepancies between Fauci’s private records and his public statements, as well as the senator’s accusation that Fauci directed staff to dispose of federal documents connected to the pandemic response.
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