Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says new evidence shows that former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci directed federal officials to delete emails. The claim contradicts sworn testimony Fauci gave before Congress.
Paul, who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, released a series of emails this week. They appear to show Fauci telling colleagues at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to erase correspondence.
One email from February 2, 2020, shows Fauci writing to then-NIH Director Francis Collins, “Please delete this e-mail after you read it.”
Another email from April 2020 shows Fauci telling staff to delete a note in which he insulted Paul during debates over the COVID-19 death rate.
The Kentucky senator said these messages directly contradict Fauci’s testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2024. At that hearing, Fauci denied ever deleting records or obstructing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Rep. James Comer asked, “Dr. Fauci, did you ever delete an official record?” Fauci answered, “No.” He gave the same answer when asked by other lawmakers if he tried to obstruct FOIA requests.
Paul has now formally requested Fauci appear before the Senate committee to clarify his statements. In his letter, Paul wrote that the records “suggest your direct involvement in efforts to conceal information related to the Committee’s investigation and appear to contradict your previous testimony before Congress.”
The emails released by Paul show that Fauci and other health officials were concerned about containing public discussion of the virus’s origins.
In early 2020, Fauci and Collins discussed convening a World Health Organization panel to counter what they described as conspiracy theories about a lab leak. Around the same time, Fauci directed staff to look into ties between his institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The controversy follows earlier revelations about David Morens, a longtime Fauci adviser. Morens described using private channels to avoid FOIA requests. In one 2021 email, he wrote that Fauci “is too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.” Other aides have also come under scrutiny for using tactics to obscure key terms in official emails.
Paul said he has reason to believe Fauci may still hold additional records tied to the origins of COVID-19. He has asked Fauci to provide all email accounts, phone numbers, and messaging platforms he used between 2018 and 2023. Fauci has not responded to the latest allegations.