Dr. Anthony Fauci’s challenges in Congress continue following a heated Senate hearing last month. The House Oversight Committee is investigating why Fauci’s diary and cellphone from the COVID-19 era were not submitted to Congress earlier. Former President Joe Biden’s top health official is being held responsible.
On Monday, Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter highlighting a November 2023 request by House Republicans for Xavier Becerra, then Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, to provide records from Fauci containing keywords like ‘COVID-19,’ ‘gain-of-function,’ and ‘Wuhan.’
These terms, among others outlined in the document request, appear throughout Dr. Fauci’s diary. Despite the existence of this clearly relevant and responsive information, you failed to include any portion of Dr. Fauci’s diary in your response, let alone even acknowledge its existence,Comer wrote.
Comer expressed concern over either intentional withholding of information or an inadequate search by the Department as requested in the November letter.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current HHS Secretary, provided Fauci’s COVID-era diary and cellphone to Senators Rand Paul and Ron Johnson earlier this year. The diary drew criticism, with opponents accusing Fauci of boasting about his status during the pandemic when Americans faced strict regulations.
Over 1,000 pages released to the public offered insights into Fauci’s private thoughts during the rapidly evolving pandemic science and his newfound fame. Fauci had previously told the Oversight Committee’s pandemic subcommittee that the CDC was responsible for school guidelines like the six-foot distancing rule, not him. Some diary entries suggested he discussed school closures with political leaders, like persuading then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to close schools.
During a Senate hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times as Republicans scrutinized the pandemic’s impact and his diary’s revelations. Becerra, now a California gubernatorial candidate, faces questions from Comer regarding his awareness of the diary, its omission from the initial document request, and possible pressure from Biden officials to withhold it. Comer requested answers by September 2.
This scrutiny follows the guilty plea of David Morens, a former Fauci advisor, for conspiracy to conceal COVID-19 records related to grant funding. Fauci admitted during a June 2024 House hearing that Morens violated federal policy by editing a National Institutes of Health letter.