Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., told Newsmax that reports about how Dr. Anthony Fauci viewed media coverage of himself during the COVID-19 pandemic are "stunning."
Harris told "Ed Henry The Big Take" on Monday that, "It's sad. The bottom line is here's the guy who was claiming to be the best scientist in the country, and actually, all he is, is he just loves the attention."
The Maryland congressional representative said, "What came out in the diary is just… earth-breaking. I mean, this is stunning. Everything we suspected, turns out was true."
Newly released diary entries from Fauci suggest that the former chief White House medical adviser became increasingly preoccupied with his growing celebrity status even as the coronavirus pandemic was blamed for taking tens of thousands of American lives.
The journals, released Sunday by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., chronicle Fauci's private thoughts during the early months of the pandemic, when he served as the nation's top infectious disease expert and a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
In an April 7, 2020, diary entry, when more than 60,000 American deaths were blamed on COVID-19, Fauci wrote, "Press still hot and heavy about me. Multiple stories per day directly or indirectly involving me."
Harris said, "We're just going to have to have him finally say out loud in public, 'Yes, I funded gain-of-function research, and I trusted the Chinese.'"
"And what can you say?" Harris asked. "The country got burned. The bottom line is, wow, his reputation is going to be shattered after this," Harris said. "The little bit he had with large segments of the population."
Paul, a longtime Fauci critic and chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the diary entries days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the committee under a subpoena issued by the Kentucky Republican.
Paul argues the journals depict a senior public health official overly focused on his public image and media profile during one of the nation's worst public health crises.
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