Key facts
- Dr. Anthony Fauci called journalist Sharri Markson's book on Covid-19 origins "a bunch of nonsense" in his diaries.
- Fauci was subpoenaed by Senator Rand Paul for a Senate hearing concerning the pandemic.
- Fauci accused Paul of an "unhinged" campaign and refused to answer questions at the hearing.
- Markson's book and reporting claimed Chinese military scientists discussed weaponizing coronaviruses.
- Markson stated that the majority of the intelligence community now believes Covid-19 likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory.
- Fauci's agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, funded projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth Alliance.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has publicly dismissed a book by News Corp journalist Sharri Markson, which supports the "lab leak" theory of Covid-19's origins, as "a bunch of nonsense" in his newly released diaries. Fauci's comments surfaced ahead of a Senate hearing where he was subpoenaed by Republican Senator Rand Paul to discuss the pandemic and his role.
Fauci, who retired in 2022 after serving as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, accused Paul of an "unhinged" campaign and refused to answer questions during Wednesday's hearing. Paul, a long-time proponent of the lab leak theory, published 1,141 pages of Fauci's pandemic-era journal entries prior to the hearing.
In his diaries, Fauci criticized reporting in The Australian newspaper and Markson's book, which alleged that a Wuhan facility was involved in "perilous experiments" manipulating bat coronaviruses. He specifically took issue with a May 7, 2021, article in The Australian that claimed Chinese military scientists discussed the weaponization of coronaviruses. Fauci wrote that the report "does not make any sense" and that "Something is wrong with this report."
Later reporting by Guardian Australia indicated that the document cited in Markson's story was based on a discredited 2015 book containing conspiracy theories about biological warfare. China analysts and James Palmer, deputy editor of Foreign Policy magazine, also criticized Markson's story as misleading and alarmist, linking it to conspiracy theories popular on the political right.
Markson's book, "What Really Happened in Wuhan," argued that there was no scientific consensus on a natural origin for Covid-19 and that China had covered up the truth. Fauci also addressed claims in Markson's book that he is the "father of gain of function research," quoting molecular biologist Richard Ebright, a lab leak theory proponent, as calling Fauci a liar. Fauci dismissed these accusations as "nonsense" and part of a continued effort by the "far right" to discredit him.
Markson, in response, stated that "the majority of the intelligence community now concludes that Covid-19 likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory." She also highlighted her role in exposing Fauci's agency's funding of 65 projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth Alliance.
The origins of the Covid-19 pandemic remain a subject of intense debate, with two main theories: natural zoonotic spillover from animals to humans, and the lab leak hypothesis, suggesting the virus emerged from research activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.