Investigators uncovered an iPhone tied to Dr. Anthony Fauci that senators say contains years of messages and voicemails, and the device is now being examined alongside previously released diary entries and sworn testimony that have damaged his public standing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci hired high-powered counsel as scrutiny from congressional Republicans intensified over pandemic decisions and communications. Previously released diary entries from HHS servers painted a portrait of someone who relished influence and, critics say, let ego shape policy choices, and those revelations set the stage for tougher scrutiny.
On July 29, Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during questioning. That decision undermined earlier boasts about having nothing to hide, and it changed the political and legal landscape for how congressional investigators and the public view his testimony.
The iPhone discovery is a fresh development with potential to add context to what was already revealed in diaries and other records. Senator Ron Johnson has said his committee possesses a copy of the phone, will preserve the data carefully, and intends to cross-check what appears on the device against previously produced texts and FOIA material.
SENATOR JOHNSON: “No, we’re downloading the phone right now.”
LAURA INGRAHAM: “What can you tell us about what you have learned thus far?”
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SENATOR JOHNSON: “From the phone, not much because we’re downloading it and trying to do it the right way. We want to preserve the evidence.”
“I can tell you that what we have looked at, it predates the pandemic, so that’s good.”
“The way we’re going to use it, obviously, we’ll compare key moments, see who he was texting.”
“We’ll compare what we see on the phone to other FOIA requests where he provided texts.”
“Did he provide all the texts?”
“We know, obviously, his henchman, David Morens… showed him how to delete emails, or remove them, and so, it might be a treasure trove.”
“I think the diaries certainly were. They showed Fauci for the complete phony that he was.”
Committee members emphasize methodical handling: they are downloading and preserving data to maintain chain of custody and avoid allegations of tampering. Republicans see the device as a way to test consistency between Fauci’s public statements, his written diaries, and private communications, and they are not shy about the political stakes.
Independent reporting noted that the phone reportedly contained only three saved contacts, an odd detail that has fed skepticism about how comprehensive any produced records have been. Senators warned that the review will take time: the device is said to include over 34,000 texts and 533 voicemails, and the records may stretch back to 2014 and run through Fauci’s tenure ending in December 2022.
Johnson appeared on the Friday night edition of NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight to reveal that there are some incredibly odd things on the doctor’s phone. Independent journalist Catherine Herridge, who attended the Fauci hearing, was sitting in for Katie; she had teased earlier in the night that Johnson had some important news to share.
While Johnson wasn’t ready to get into the weeds about what they’re finding, he did reveal that they have a good deal of information to work with, including over 34,000 texts and 533 voicemails.
Johnson told Herridge that there was a treasure trove of information on the phone, which Fauci is believed to have used from 2014 up until a few days before he left the National Institutes of Health in December of 2022.
Republican critics argue that the volume and span of the material justify a prolonged, careful review and could expose inconsistencies or deleted threads that bear on policy choices during the pandemic. The prospect of matching phone contents to FOIA responses and diary entries raises questions about what was turned over and what may have been omitted.
Whatever emerges, the combination of sworn testimony, the diaries, and now an electronic record will keep the story alive politically and legally for months. For investigators and for voters, the phone is another piece of evidence that will be measured against the public record to see whether Fauci’s narrative holds up.
