Dr Anthony Fauci, the former top US health official, has described a book by News Corp investigative journalist Sharri Markson that supports the 'lab leak' theory of COVID-19's origins as a 'bunch of nonsense' in his newly released private diaries. The diaries were published ahead of Fauci's Senate hearing on Wednesday, to which he was subpoenaed by Republican Senator Rand Paul.
Fauci's diary entries criticize Markson's reporting
In his pandemic-era journal entries, Fauci wrote that Markson's reporting in The Australian newspaper and her book 'What Really Happened in Wuhan' 'does not make any sense.' On 7 May 2021, Markson reported that Chinese military scientists had 'discussed the weaponisation of Sars coronaviruses five years before the Covid-19 pandemic.' Fauci noted in his diary: 'Why would someone want to make an agent that could equally infect your own population. Something is wrong with this report. I will have to follow up on it.'
Guardian Australia later found that the document cited by Markson was based on a discredited 2015 book containing conspiracy theories about biological warfare. The story was criticized as misleading by China analysts, including James Palmer, a deputy editor of Foreign Policy magazine, who said it had links to conspiracy theories popular with the political right.
Fauci accuses far-right of continued attacks
Fauci also wrote about Markson's book, stating: 'The latest written by an Australian person who says I'm the father of gain of function research quotes from the infamous Richard Ebright saying that I'm a liar and I have misled everybody about gain of function. What a bunch of nonsense! The far right continues to try and discredit me.' Ebright is an American molecular biologist and proponent of the lab leak theory.
Markson defends her reporting
In response, Markson told Guardian Australia: 'The majority of the intelligence community now concludes that Covid-19 likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory. I led the way internationally exposing the role of Anthony Fauci's agency funding 65 projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, funnelling the money through EcoHealth Alliance.'
Senate hearing and ongoing debate
Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed by Senator Rand Paul to appear at a Senate hearing into COVID-19 and his handling of the pandemic. At the hearing, Fauci accused Paul of an 'unhinged' campaign lobbying for his imprisonment and refused to answer questions. The hearing continued Paul's years-long support of the lab leak theory, which posits that the pandemic began as a release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The origins of COVID-19 remain debated, with two main theories: natural origins from a wild animal jump, or a lab leak. News Corp was approached for comment.
