Fauci’s diary revealed: Wet market not origins of COVID

Opinion>Opinions - Robby's Radar The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the view of The Hill Fauci’s diary revealed: Wet market not origins of COVID Comments: by Robby Soave, opinion contributor - 07/27/26 12:32 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Robby Soave, opinion contributor - 07/27/26 12:32 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Well, well, well. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s investigation into former COVID czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is yielding some fascinating results.

Paul has uncovered entries in Fauci’s journal that reveal the doctor’s true feelings about a range of issues. Mostly importantly, Fauci’s journal entries contradict what he said publicly about the origins of COVID-19. Publicly, Fauci maintained support for the animal spillover explanation of the virus’s origins, and downplayed the possibility of a lab leak. But now we know that, in his journal, Fauci admitted in January 2020 that the initial outbreak of COVID did not occur at a wet market, but rather that COVID had been spreading in China for weeks prior.

Fauci wrote on Jan. 26 that the first infection was in December and not connected to the market. “Now we know the market was not the source, it was the amplifier.”

And that is a huge admission. Because only one a few days later, on Feb. 1, Fauci participated in a conversation with 12 scientists about the origins of COVID. That conversation would eventually lead to Proximal Origins, a scientific paper that, per Fauci’s interference, strongly endorsed animal spillover as the origins of COVID, and not a lab leak.

Now, in this call, Fauci admits that just two of the scientists of the 12 thought that animal spillover was likely. The rest “felt deliberate insertion was possible.” That means, contrary to the later suggestion that Fauci was just some neutral arbiter and most of the scientists he consulted sided with the wet market theory, we now know that behind closed doors, the vast majority of experts leaned toward lab leak from the beginning — and Fauci himself knew the Hunan Seafood Market was not where the first outbreak occurred. Yet soon thereafter, Fauci would press top scientists to rule out the lab leak.

Why did he do this? We don’t know for sure, but it seems plausible to me that Fauci knew if it was a lab leak, he would be in big trouble, since he has for decades supported and funded the exact kind of research that could have produced this calamity. In fact, his diary mentions the experiments conducted by the Chinese scientist Shi Zhengli, who was known as the “bat lady.”

Fauci’s diary entries from the following year suggested he had completely convinced himself of his own deception — i.e., that lab leak was not possible. In his diary, he rails against FBI investigators for reaching the opposite conclusion. He writes that the FBI has no idea what it is talking about, and he becomes furious with so-called conspiracy theorists in the U.S. Senate who are pressing him to investigate the lab leak hypothesis, including Paul.

For what it’s worth, Fauci comes off as extremely smug and convinced of his own greatness. He also shows a penchant for weighing in on subjects for which he has no particular expertise. He mentions receiving a call from then President Trump, who asked him about the virus. Fauci says he tried to give Trump political advice, saying that unless he followed Fauci’s recommendations, it could hurt him politically. So much for sticking to the science.

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.

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