Conservative columnist Lydia Moynihan has accused CNN of attempting to suppress discussion of Dr. Anthony Fauci's newly released private diaries. Moynihan, a panelist on CNN NewsNight, stated on social media platform X that host Abby Phillip cut her off when she attempted to mention the diaries during a segment Tuesday.
Moynihan's claim arose during a discussion about alleged government obfuscation regarding casualty figures in the recent Iran war. She suggested that the handling of these figures was similar to a situation where "we saw the government was certainly obfuscating, didn't have any transparency, was Anthony Fauci."
This comment preceded her attempt to discuss the thousands of pages of pandemic-era diary entries released over the weekend. The diaries, spanning from late 2019 to Fauci's retirement in 2022, reportedly reveal his focus on media coverage and his relationships with journalists, including CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. Republicans have also raised questions about Fauci's alleged role in funding research at Chinese laboratories where viruses were manipulated, and his statements to Congress regarding the government's pandemic response.
Phillip interrupted Moynihan, stating, "We're sitting here talking about Americans who were killed in theater, okay, as a result of a war. We are not going to pivot to Anthony Fauci's diaries. That's a different conversation."
Moynihan later posted on X, accompanying footage of the exchange, expressing a desire for the media to "devote even just a minute or two to acknowledging Anthony Fauci’s lies and obfuscation instead of focusing relentlessly on the Pentagon website."
The diary entries, released by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, include Fauci's reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic's origins and his growing public profile. Entries from March 2020 note his awareness of significant media attention, including front-page articles and opinion pieces. By May 2020, he reportedly wrote that "It is not hyoperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable person in the world."
The diaries also detail Fauci's interactions with journalists. One entry describes a "friendship" with Jake Tapper, who reportedly visited Fauci's home for dinner and checked in after an interview. Another entry notes a text exchange with Dana Bash following Fauci's contentious hearing with Republican Rep. Jim Jordan in April 2021. Bash, who had previously called Fauci a "superhero," offered words of encouragement to him, relaying a joke from Wolf Blitzer. She also texted Fauci again the next day to highlight a critical Vanity Fair headline about Jordan.
Fauci played down the lab leak theory for COVID-19's origins early in the pandemic, though his diaries suggest he privately considered it a possibility. The pandemic's origins are generally considered to be either a laboratory incident or natural zoonotic transmission. Fauci has not been charged with any crimes. He received a full pardon from former President Joe Biden covering potential offenses from January 1, 2014, through the date of the pardon.