U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), has called on Dr. Anthony Fauci to testify before the committee after new emails surfaced that appear to contradict Dr. Fauci’s previous testimony about deleting federal records.
The committee sent a letter to Dr. Fauci on September 9, 2025, requesting all communications from 2018–2023 related to COVID-19 origins, gain-of-function research, EcoHealth Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and other involved parties. The letter also asks Dr. Fauci to clarify his earlier statements under oath and address evidence suggesting he tried to conceal records from congressional investigators.
“During the course of its investigation, the Committee has obtained records revealing that you directed employees of the National Institutes for Health (NIH) to destroy federal records. These documents suggest your direct involvement in efforts to conceal information related to the Committee’s investigation and appear to contradict your previous testimony before Congress. Accordingly, I request that you provide additional information and formally invite you to appear before the Committee to clarify your previous testimony,” the letter stated.
Among the newly released documents is an email dated February 2, 2020—one day after what is known as the “Proximal Origins” call—in which Jeremy Farrar, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Francis Collins discussed how best “to get ahead of the science and narrative of” COVID-19’s origins. In this exchange, Dr. Fauci told then-NIH Director Francis Collins: “Please delete this e-mail after you read it.”
Another email from July 20, 2020 shows Dr. Fauci expressing frustration with congressional oversight by writing about Senator Paul: “As usual [Rand Paul]’s full of s..t” and instructing his Chief of Staff: “please delete this e-mail afteryou read it.”
“Dr. Fauci misled Congress and the American people. The evidence is clear: while publicly posturing as a champion of science, he was privately directing his staff to destroy federal records,” said Dr. Paul. “This is a blatant violation, a betrayal of the public trust, and further proof that Fauci engaged in a coverup from the very beginning of the pandemic.”
