Fauci’s Diary Reveals Private Discussions
WASHINGTON — In a recently disclosed diary, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), admitted to having multiple private conversations with his adviser, whom he had previously denied discussing in June 2024.
Fauci has been under intense political and scientific scrutiny over U.S. funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology. However, he has consistently denied that any experiments related to “gain-of-function” research—ones designed to make a virus more infectious—were performed.
At the time, the NIAID director testified he was unaware that David Morens, a senior adviser who was indicted in May for concealing federal records, had created a “secret” back channel on his behalf to bypass Freedom of Information Act requests.
In the diary, it was reported that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) mentioned plans to arrange a call with Morens to glean more information regarding claims that Fauci approved grants which could have potentially led to COVID-19 outbreaks tied to WIV.
Fauci noted, “It seems that some of NIAID’s far-right grant recipients are collaborating with Congressman Jim Jordan, Senator Rand Paul, and others in the radical right to falsely associate me with the virus that originated in Wuhan.”
He added, “David Morens has been informed that these individuals are trying to push me out of my position. They’ve made claims that both Peter Daszak and I worked with the Chinese to engineer the virus released globally.”
During a June 3, 2024, House subcommittee testimony, Fauci reiterated that he had no knowledge of Morens’ actions regarding Dr. Daszak, EcoHealth, or any related emails.
He stressed, “It’s crucial to clarify that Dr. Morens, despite his title, wasn’t functionally my adviser on key policy or significant issues.”
However, his diary revealed discussions about the importance of “systemic vaccination” for Americans, involving Morens and Jeffrey Taubenberger, who recently became acting NIAID director under President Trump.
Emails surfaced, first reported by the Post, which revealed that in May 2024, the former NIAID director communicated with Morens through back channels about a $4 million EcoHealth Alliance grant that funded WIV.
In correspondence with EcoHealth President Peter Daszak, Morens stated, “There are things I cannot disclose except for what Tony knows, and I’ve learned that efforts are being made within the NIH to minimize impact on you, Peter, your colleagues, and the NIH and NIAID.” This was from an April 26, 2020 email from a private account.
Morens also conveyed in an April 21, 2021 email, “You don’t need to worry about FOIA here. You can send content to Tony’s private Gmail; he’s too clever to let colleagues share anything that could lead to complications.”
Fauci is expected to testify before Paul’s Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday.
Neither Morens’ nor Fauci’s attorneys provided any comments when approached.
