JAIL Fauci? Ari's TRUTH BOMB on BONKERS hearing, 'famous' diary

[0:00] We begin with the story out of Washington, the Senate holding fiery and at times farcical hearings [0:07] today questioning Dr. Anthony Fauci. And he pled the fifth, which itself is unusual for such a [0:14] senior government official. He hasn't done that, of course, in the past. He's testified [0:17] to many different Congresses under both parties. He did it today in protest of what he views as [0:24] Republicans' unlawful demands that he be sent to jail and a forum that he and his lawyers say is [0:30] completely rigged. So why engage with it? Now, Fauci spent, of course, decades as the federal [0:36] government's infectious disease expert. He was central to the COVID response we all lived through. [0:40] And he drew strong reactions ranging from at times a hero's praise to the extreme demonization on the [0:47] right, which has continued for years. Now, I'm going to show you everything you need to know about [0:51] this tonight. I can tell you, first of all, having lived through this, covered it, I can remember how [0:56] we switched from a normal newsroom to the remote work that everyone else did in that era. And we [1:01] did it while trying to put on the news every night. I can tell you that over the years, the politics [1:05] of COVID have been, of course, intense, but also strange. First, Democrats led a very strong response [1:12] during the pandemic. They were out front. They were pushing for action and rules and change faster [1:17] than the Trump administration. And it's pretty clear that Trump's struggles to face that crisis [1:22] really dragged down his losing 2020 campaign. That's where the politics started. And while many [1:28] moved on, indeed, it's pretty common to say, you don't want to talk about COVID. You don't want to [1:33] look at pictures from that area. You don't want to go back to that time as a human. Of course, in [1:37] journalism and politics and government, not everyone should have that luxury. And so while it's [1:42] understandable that personally people moved on, in the politics here, I can tell you that in the years [1:47] since COVID, it is Republicans who have hammered COVID policy, sometimes on legitimate policy [1:56] questions about lockdowns or vaccine mandates, but also on really more extreme plots, including [2:03] villainizing once obscure agencies like the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, [2:10] which is not an agency most people could name, let alone have a bunch of beef with until COVID, [2:14] and also pushing outright lies and unhinged conspiracy theories, some of which are dangerous [2:21] in themselves. Now, today's hearing was dominated by angry Republican theater. But I also want to [2:27] report for you that pursuant to this investigation, there is new evidence and reviews of that time [2:34] period that also raise really valid questions about the government response, as well as some of [2:39] Fauci's own priorities. So here's what we're going to do. Tonight, we are going to report out on both of [2:46] those topics. First, today's hearing, which was a newsworthy clash, which also kind of strangely [2:54] vindicated President Biden's own warnings against what he worried was Republicans criminalizing the [3:02] public service of Fauci and other individuals in government. And he noted that in his pardon for [3:09] Fauci, which itself was a unprecedented, extraordinary act of an outgoing president. Well, today shows exactly [3:15] what Biden was talking about. Second, basically in a few moments from now, I'm also going to report on [3:22] the newly released writings from Fauci's diary. We're going to sift that evidence to objectively assess [3:28] the record, including what in any review, journalistic, legal, or otherwise, is really important evidence when [3:36] you get firsthand primary source evidence. We're going to look at that, not just say the glowing or [3:40] political accounts of Fauci. Now, beginning today, Republican Senator Paul, a doctor, was hammering [3:47] Dr. Fauci for the COVID response, for how Fauci and others may have approached different theories of [3:53] the pandemic's origin. And then, as I mentioned, they were pushing the McCarthyite calls to jail [3:59] this distinguished and elderly doctor for years on these far-fetched claims that he misled Congress. [4:07] Fauci critic Laura Ingraham attended the hearing in some sort of solidarity of people who have been [4:14] hammering Fauci. Republicans went after him as if, at times, it seemed like he was the one [4:20] who caused COVID's death toll, or that they argued Fauci maybe had no concern for the victims, [4:28] which is a very odd line of attack. If you all remember what we lived through, the way they [4:35] talked about Fauci almost felt like a lifted projection of Trump's cold and meager response [4:41] during that time. You force people to watch their loved ones die alone over the phone. It's [4:48] disgusting. Who the do you think you were for doing that? Loss of trust may be your most damaging [4:53] legacy. During the pandemic, you got rich, didn't you? It is a total disgrace what you did to this [5:00] country. You got rich while people were dying, hundreds of thousands of Americans, over a million [5:06] in the end. You lied to hundreds of millions of people amid the worst public health crisis in [5:11] a century. COVID lockdown, however, could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting [5:16] the crime. This has destroyed decades of progress and lifetimes of work because you wanted to fuel [5:21] your own ego and be the center of attention. It went on and on like that. Dr. Fauci rebutted [5:30] Senator Paul and saying the senator is obsessed with him. Fauci and his team argued the hearing [5:36] was rigged, that it was aiming for that perjury trap I mentioned, so that he would invoke those [5:41] rights, which, by the way, everyone has the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate yourself. [5:46] Although I will note for you that is unusual for federal officials, most of whom don't invoke it [5:51] and tend to testify, which he has in the past. And add to that that Fauci already has federal immunity [5:56] for his time in office from that Biden pardon, which was a move to preempt exactly what Republicans [6:03] tried today. Now they're trying to say that they might find new conduct legally that took place [6:11] after Biden left office, which is the duration of that pardon, as some sort of hook to then get the [6:17] Trump DOJ to potentially indict Fauci. Now that sounds like quite a far-fetched bank shot and a legal [6:24] abuse of power. But it's, of course, possible, given how many other Republican and Trump foes [6:29] are already being probed or charged under this discredited DOJ since the second term began. [6:37] And so what we saw today was both the ultimate proof of why Joe Biden did what he said he did. [6:50] He didn't give a bunch of, you know, far-fetched reasons. He very clearly said at the time, [6:54] because of the criminalization of public service, he was going to take that unusual step and pardon [7:01] Fauci. Some criticized at the time as extreme or paranoid. Today shows it was certainly not that. [7:06] And so we're really seeing a criminalization of public service that builds on that enemy's list [7:13] I showed you. When Trump failed to handle COVID well, many did flock to Dr. Fauci as the kind of [7:17] alternative federal government leader. This Senate probe released 1,000 pages, brand new, [7:23] of Fauci's records from that time, as well as his diary. And it does cast a different light on, [7:30] for example, his approach to the media, embracing his star power, sometimes as the public health [7:36] messenger that's part of the job. But really clearly other times, it also looks like he was [7:41] facing a kind of tempting personal conflict because he became fixated on aspects of his fame, [7:48] even by the standards of Washington. Early in the crisis, when hundreds of thousands were sick or [7:53] dying, Fauci wrote in his diary that his national and international fame was explosive and unimaginable. [8:01] It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country [8:09] and one of the most recognizable persons in the world, he wrote in May. That claim is false. [8:17] It does read like hyperbole. More Americans know and talk about Taylor Swift or LeBron James or Leonardo [8:23] DiCaprio and many other people before talking about Fauci, even as he did dominate the attention of [8:29] Americans who follow news or medicine and politics. Fauci wrote that his friends were saying he was a [8:35] national hero and he showed an interest in his rising star access, citing his invite from Joan Baez to [8:41] the Kennedy Center. Another night, he recounted conversations with Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Matt Damon, [8:46] and a great call with Barbara Streisand, where he added, I brought the phone over to Alexa, [8:52] asked to play songs by Streisand. When the song came on loud and clear, she started laughing and [8:57] absolutely loved it. He noted that he would be swamped all night by people wanting to say hello [9:02] and shake my hand and take pictures with me. I couldn't get away from it, he recounted at one event. [9:07] There was almost a glee evidenced in the diary. Dr. Fauci at times sounding a bit more like a [9:14] New York Post gossip column and rating the highest level of triple A list you could imagine in [9:20] Washington at one of his events. Now, it's also true that anyone in his shoes might find that [9:25] sudden shift quite dizzying. Fauci did become a cultural sensation. There was merchandise. [9:32] There were shirts people wore around saying, in Fauci, we trust. The New York Times had a column [9:37] about thank God the doctor's in. And it's not just Fauci's view. We should note even independent [9:43] outlets like the Guardian said he did become a superstar. There were the cover stories. [9:50] There was Time Magazine naming him the Guardian of the Year. There was a National Geographic doc. [9:57] And press was, of course, part of his job. The diary also includes him noting that Trump, [10:03] quote, POTUS, seems to be enamored of me, even though I'm taking the spotlight away from him. [10:09] And even as we hear all these right-wing critiques, it's worth remembering Trump himself [10:14] awarded Fauci a presidential commendation on his last full day in office back when the president, [10:21] Donald Trump, was touting vaccines and the Warp Speed Project. Now, in fairness, the diary also [10:27] has all kinds of notes about work and meetings and new data and conference calls with scientists [10:33] and all of the normal push and pull of life in the federal government. And we're reporting this out [10:39] so you can see what the evidence shows. Lord knows if you get a diary of any politician or public [10:43] figure or Trump, it would be newsworthy. I will state for the record that his pretty intense fixation [10:49] on PR does not suggest any dereliction of duty on the job.