The latest release from Sen. Rand Paul's investigation shows Dr. Fauci privately doubted the “settled science” he sold to the public, all while taxpayer-funded staff helped him collect a $900,000 prize.
What the Records Show
Sen. Rand Paul's Senate Homeland Security Committee has been dropping documents for weeks now, and they paint a much fuller picture than any single headline can capture.
There's Fauci's own 465-page diary covering 2001 through 2015, showing how he helped build the federal biodefense system from the ground up.
There are Slack messages from the scientists who wrote the famous “Proximal Origin” paper, the one that publicly dismissed the lab leak theory, showing they privately put real odds on a lab origin.
One scientist guessed 30 percent.
There's a transcribed interview with Dr. Ralph Baric, the scientist who inserted the very gene sequence at the center of the lab leak debate.
And there's a fresh batch of records showing how NIH lined Fauci's own pockets with prize money while he ran the government's pandemic response.
Dear Diary
Sen. Rand Paul's Senate Homeland Security Committee released a new batch of Dr. Anthony Fauci's personal diary pages this week.
The pages cover January 2020, the very start of the pandemic.
On January 31, 2020, Fauci was told by top virologists that the virus's furin cleavage site raised real doubts about a natural origin. About half the scientists on that call believed the virus looked “constructed.”
Fauci never said that publicly. Instead, he spent the next several years telling Congress and the American people that the science pointed to a natural origin and that the lab leak theory was a fringe idea.
The diary shows a gap between what he was told in private and what he said out loud.
Why This Matters to Conservatives
Fauci ran the government's most powerful voice on COVID-19 policy. Lockdowns, school closures, and vaccine mandates were all built on the idea that officials like Fauci were leveling with the country.
If he had doubts and hid them, that changes everything.
This also isn't just about one man's judgment. Fauci's diary documents his frustration and defensiveness when reporters and lawmakers asked about gain-of-function funding tied to EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Yet he told Congress under oath that no such research had occurred.
Conservatives believe government officials should be honest with the people who pay their salaries, especially under oath. That principle is at the center of this story.
The Bigger Pattern
This diary release doesn't stand alone. Other documents from the same investigation show the scientists behind the “Proximal Origin” paper, the study that publicly dismissed the lab leak theory, privately assigning real odds to a lab origin.
One scientist put it at 30 percent. Another started at 20 percent.
A separate transcribed interview with Dr. Ralph Baric, the scientist who inserted the furin cleavage site into coronavirus research, confirmed he ran an experiment that undercuts the natural-origin theory.
Taken together, the picture is a group of scientists who had real doubts and a public message that didn't reflect them.
The Prize Money on Top of It
Separate documents from the same investigation show Fauci also collected big money while all this was happening.
NIH staff, paid by taxpayers, helped write his award nominations. Colleagues who received NIH grant money nominated him for prizes.
The biggest one, a $900,000 award from the Israel-based Dan David Foundation, had NIH's own leadership celebrating.
One employee wrote:
“Congratulations….you're rich!”
His chief of staff, Greg Folkers, wrote:
“I want my 15%.”
NIH ethics officials did review and approve that prize, and blocked some others. But it adds a second layer to this story: a top official who may have hidden doubts about the virus's origin was also cashing in on the fame that came with being the public face of the pandemic.
What Comes Next
Fauci is expected to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, where lawmakers say they will press him under oath about the January 2020 call and what he knew when he knew it.
Chairman Paul has said more diary pages and documents are still coming.
What You Can Do
Watch the hearing when it happens.
Ask your member of Congress whether they support continued funding for gain-of-function research overseas, and whether they'll back full transparency on what officials knew in those first critical weeks of the pandemic.
The lockdowns, the mandates, and the trust the public put in its health agencies were all built on the claim that this was settled science, and it wasn't. The public deserves to know the truth.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
