Fauci’s Private Diary Contradicts Public Denials About Role in COVID-19 Lockdowns

Entries from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s private diary directly contradict his public statements denying involvement in COVID-19 lockdown decisions, according to newly exposed documents. The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease repeatedly claimed during and after the pandemic that he had no role in recommending lockdowns, yet his contemporaneous notes reveal a different account of events.

In a March 15, 2020, diary entry marked “BIG DAY!” in red letters, Fauci documented conversations with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and California officials in which he said he influenced their closure decisions. “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,” Fauci wrote. He also noted a call with Ann O’Leary, Chief of Staff to California Governor Gavin Newsom, stating that the governor decided to close schools, bars, and restaurants based partly on Fauci’s television appearances.

The diary entries document Fauci’s involvement in additional lockdown decisions beyond school closures. On March 15, 2020, Fauci wrote that he told de Blasio to close New York City’s bars and restaurants, with the mayor agreeing to base that decision on Fauci’s recommendation. Five days later, Fauci recorded advising the mayor to implement “shelter in place for the entire city” after Governor Andrew Cuomo initially resisted the measure.

Fauci’s notes also detail efforts to extend lockdown measures at the federal level. During a March 29, 2020, meeting with President Donald Trump, whom Fauci described as “incorrigible,” the doctor said he successfully persuaded the president to extend mitigation efforts beyond the initial “15 days to stop the spread” campaign that began March 16. “We convinced him to go with 30 day instead of ending the mitigation prematurely, which I feel would be a disaster,” Fauci recorded.

In a November 28, 2020, entry, Fauci documented a call from Mark Ghaly, Deputy Director for Community Health for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, seeking Fauci’s support for a three-week lockdown. “I agreed to support him,” Fauci wrote, despite noting significant public pushback against the closure measures.

Public statements by Fauci contradict these diary accounts at multiple points. During an October 16, 2022, interview with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Fauci denied orchestrating school closures. “Nobody plays that clip,” he said of statements where he advocated keeping schools open. “They always come back and say, ‘Fauci was responsible for shutting schools down.’ I had nothing to do [with it]!”

Later in 2022, appearing on The Hill’s “Rising” podcast, Fauci made similar denials. “I didn’t recommend locking anything down,” he stated, attributing lockdown decisions instead to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In January 2024, testifying before the House Oversight Committee years after lockdowns ended, Fauci repeated the claim: “I did not close the schools.”

However, Fauci’s own comments to CBS News on October 7, 2020, appear to contradict his later denials. “When it became clear that we had community spread in the country, I recommended to the president that we shut the country down,” he said at that time, directly acknowledging his role in lockdown decisions.