Newly surfaced diary pages from Dr. Anthony Fauci show a direct clash between his private notes and his public statements about lockdowns, school closures and advice to governors and mayors during the early pandemic. The entries record phone calls and recommendations that match actions taken by city and state leaders, while later interviews and testimony feature denials that contradict those private entries. Republicans and others pushing for accountability point to these entries as evidence Fauci misled the public about his role in pandemic policy. The diary excerpts lay out a timeline of advice, meetings and apparent influence that deserves scrutiny.
The March 15, 2020 diary entry opens with “BIG DAY!” written in red letters and recounts a conversation with then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Fauci wrote, “I spoke with Bill de Blasio (Mayor – NYC) and convinced him based on what I was saying publicly and my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools (he had already decided based on what I was saying on TV).” That line in his private notes frames a clear contrast with later public denials.
The same March 15 entry includes a call with the chief of staff to California’s governor, noting that media appearances influenced policy decisions. Fauci recorded, “Ann said that based on my TV appearances today and yesterday, the Governor has decided to close the schools in California as well as the bars and restaurants.” The diary suggests public messaging and private counsel were tightly linked in those early, chaotic days.
But seven months later, on an Oct. 16, 2022 with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Fauci pushed back on any claim that he pushed for lockdowns. He said, “Let’s go back and look at the transcript. We said we should try as best as we possibly can to keep the children in school,” and insisted, “They always come back and say, ‘Fauci was responsible for shutting schools down.’ I had nothing to do [with it]!” Those denials sit uneasily beside the diary language describing direct counsel to local leaders.
In interviews and hearings after the fact he doubled down on that stance, telling outlets in 2022 that he “didn’t recommend locking anything down.” Then on January 9, 2024 he testified the same thing before the House Oversight Committee. “I did not close the schools,” he said, according to the hearing transcript. And it became the widespread situation where I became a political target.”
The diary documents more than school closures; it also records direction on bars, restaurants and shelter-in-place orders. Fauci wrote, “I went on to tell him he should close the bars and restaurants in NYC. He said that he would base this on my recommendation.” Five days later he logged a follow-up: “Also, had phone call with Major de Blasio who wants to go to ‘shelter in place for the entire city.[‘] He is asking my advice since Gov. Cuomo is pushing back. I advised DeBlasio [sic] to go ahead and do it. I will try to speak with Cuomo,” the entry said.
The diary also captures interactions at the highest level. On March 29, 2020 he described a tense Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump and labeled the president “incorrigible” in the entry. Fauci wrote that persuading the president to extend mitigation was crucial and recorded, “At the end of the day it was a good outcome since we convinced him to go with 30 day (sic) instead of ending the mitigation prematurely, which I feel would be a disaster.” That again paints a picture of direct influence on national decisions.
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Later entries show Fauci supporting localized shutdowns when officials were under pressure. In a November 28, 2020 diary entry he noted, “Got call last night from Mark Ghaly (Deputy Director for Community Health for the LA County Dept of Health Services). He has called me several times for advice,” and quoted the plea for help: “Frantic call saying that they are surging in LA County and very soon hospital beds will be overrun. He wants to do a 3 weeks shutdown of the city to ‘stop the surge’ and wants my support since there is a large pushback to locking down. I agreed to support him.” That passage indicates active backing for shutdowns in areas facing spikes.
Yet again, when pressed on podcasts and in the media he denied responsibility. During The Hill’s “Rising” podcast in 2022 Fauci maintained, “Well, you know, again, first of all, I didn’t recommend locking anything down,” and pointed to the CDC’s role in public recommendations. Still, his own media quotes from 2020 undercut that position: “When it became clear that we had community spread in the country, with a few cases of community spread — this was way before there was a major explosion like we saw in the northeastern corridor driven by New York City metropolitan area — I recommended to the president that we shut the country down,” he said on Oct. 7, 2020.
