Dr. Anthony Fauci Caught — Republicans Hold Up One Piece of Paper That Should Land Him in Jail
WASHINGTON, D.C. — August 14, 2026
Congressional Republicans are intensifying their scrutiny of Dr. Anthony Fauci following the release of his pandemic-era private notes. The documents, published ahead of a contentious Senate hearing, indicate the former infectious disease official privately calculated that the COVID-19 fatality rate was significantly lower than the estimates he provided to the public in 2020.
The documents, characterized by conservative lawmakers as Fauci's "diary," were released by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The records offer a rare glimpse into early assessments by the former director.
The controversy centers on a journal entry dated February 8, 2020. Fauci recorded a conversation with former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. Fauci noted the experts were "on the same page" in comparing the novel coronavirus's transmissibility to severe influenza, concluding that widespread asymptomatic cases would push the actual case fatality rate lower than initial global reports suggested.
According to the entry, Fauci wrote that the high number of undiagnosed infections made the true case fatality rate "more like 0.2-0.3% rather than 2.0%".
Republicans argue this private assessment starkly contradicts the severe warnings Fauci issued publicly. During a March 2020 congressional hearing, as nationwide closures began, Fauci testified under oath that the stated mortality rate was approximately 3 percent.
“It first started off as two, and now three,” Fauci told lawmakers. While he acknowledged that counting asymptomatic infections would likely bring the rate down to around 1 percent, he firmly emphasized the threat. “This has a mortality of 10 times that [of the seasonal flu]. And that’s the reason why I want to emphasize we have to stay ahead of the game in preventing this.”
He reiterated similar figures during prime-time television appearances, warning audiences the rate was "about two, two and a half percent," before conceding it might settle near 1 percent.
Critics contend the discrepancy between his private calculations of a 0.2 to 0.3 percent fatality rate and his public warnings misled the American public and artificially inflated the justification for unprecedented restrictions.
The disclosure has reignited fierce partisan anger regarding the government's pandemic response. Republican lawmakers expressed outrage over both the conflicting statistics and portions of the diary where Fauci purportedly discussed media appearances and his rising public profile.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) issued a scathing rebuke following the release.
“Tony Fauci’s diary shows how he worked with the liberal media to smear me, cover for China, and lie to the American people,” Cotton stated. “Fauci is a lying disgrace who should be prosecuted.”
Fauci’s defenders argue that early pandemic data was highly volatile, noting that public health officials frequently updated their guidance as clinical reporting improved globally. Nonetheless, the newly released documents provide conservative investigators with substantial new material as they continue to demand strict accountability for the federal government's handling of the devastating COVID-19 crisis.
Trump Admin Says It Uncovered $10 Billion Obamacare Fraud Scheme
The Trump administration says it has uncovered what it describes as a massive fraud scheme within the Affordable Care Act.
Members of Trump’s administration allege that roughly $10 billion in taxpayer money was improperly paid out between 2021 and 2024 because of weakened enrollment safeguards under former President Joe Biden.
According to a Department of Health and Human Services report, officials have already removed nearly three million fraudulent or improper Obamacare enrollments and estimate another 2.6 million questionable enrollments remain.
Administration officials say the findings are part of a broader government-wide effort to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse across federal programs.
The report traces the alleged problems to changes made during the Biden administration that expanded enrollment opportunities while relaxing income verification and eligibility checks.
At the start of Biden’s presidency, approximately 10 million people were enrolled through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. By 2024, enrollment had surged to roughly 22 million.
Federal investigators now believe millions of those enrollments were improper, fraudulent, or created without the knowledge of the individuals involved.
“By our estimate, improper, phantom, and fraudulent enrollment peaked at 5.6 million people in 2025,” the report states.
“We estimate 2.6 million improper and phantom enrollments remain, including over 1 million enrollments without a Social Security number.”
According to the report, several different forms of abuse contributed to the alleged fraud.
Officials say some applicants intentionally understated their income to qualify for larger taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Others allegedly received premium assistance despite failing to meet eligibility requirements.
Investigators also identified what they describe as “phantom enrollments,” in which insurance brokers allegedly enrolled people in Obamacare plans without their knowledge to collect federal commissions.
The report argues that reduced verification requirements made those practices significantly easier to carry out.
Since taking office, the Trump administration says it has restored stricter income verification requirements, ended several special enrollment periods, increased screening for duplicate Medicaid enrollment, and launched investigations into brokers suspected of creating phantom policies.
Officials also say they have strengthened oversight of agents participating in the federal marketplace.
As a result of those efforts, nearly three million enrollments have already been removed from the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
Even after those removals, approximately 19.2 million people remain enrolled.
The administration says its goal is not to reduce legitimate coverage but to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent only on individuals who actually qualify.
“Preserving the fiscal and programmatic integrity of the ACA Exchanges is key to safeguarding taxpayer-funded resources for those that truly need them,” the report states.
“The federal government paying brokers to enroll individuals without their knowledge is not.”
The report also says the administration will continue pursuing additional enforcement actions against brokers and others accused of exploiting the program.
“The Trump Administration continues to aggressively root out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption by promulgating new regulations to improve program integrity, investigating suspected improper or fraudulent enrollment, and taking action against agents and brokers committing fraud.”
The findings are likely to reignite debate over the Affordable Care Act and how aggressively eligibility rules should be enforced.
Supporters of the administration argue the report demonstrates that stricter oversight is necessary to protect taxpayers and preserve benefits for those legally entitled to receive them.
Critics of previous verification rollbacks have long warned that loosening enrollment safeguards could increase improper payments and fraud, while supporters of the Biden-era policies argued the changes made healthcare more accessible to eligible Americans, Fox News reported exclusively.
The administration says its investigations remain ongoing, with an estimated 2.6 million additional enrollments still under review as officials continue auditing the federal health insurance exchanges.
Trump has been pushing to replace Obamacare for over a decade, and this may give Republicans enough motivation to actually do something.
