Republican Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul have released a series of text messages from January 25 and 26, 2021, reportedly from Dr. Anthony Fauci's government-issued cellphone during the COVID-19 pandemic. The messages include discussions about COVID-19 vaccines and their implications for pregnant women.
One of the texts indicates that Fauci expressed concern that the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester." These messages were exchanged with Rochelle Walensky, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Vivek Murthy, former United States Surgeon General.
According to the senators, Fauci's phone contains over 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails. They noted that only three contacts were listed, with most messages identified only by phone numbers rather than names, and stated it was too early to determine if any data had been deleted.
Senator Johnson has requested transcribed interviews with Fauci and other Food and Drug Administration officials. He alleges that senior FDA officials may have disregarded warnings about the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring system's potential shortcomings.
Johnson is seeking transparency regarding the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including early treatments, and the development, deployment, safety monitoring, and efficacy of the vaccines. He is advocating for Fauci to appear before his committee, drawing a parallel to the House Oversight Committee's process of obtaining transcribed interviews in investigations, where information is often released to the public shortly after.
Fauci previously testified before the Senate, during which he invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times when questioned by senators. This story is developing and will be updated.