Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and sister of US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., publicly defended Dr Anthony Fauci on Tuesday.
Her remarks came after Senator Rand Paul released Fauci’s personal pandemic-era diaries, reigniting debate over the publication of his private writings.
In a post on X, Kennedy said her late mother, Ethel Kennedy, admired Fauci and regarded him as a hero. She also criticized the publication of the diaries, arguing that it violated his privacy. The remarks came as Fauci faces renewed political scrutiny ahead of a Senate hearing on the origins of COVID-19.
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‘Mum admired you, Dr Fauci’
Kerry Kennedy shared an excerpt that she said came from Fauci’s diary. The passage described a phone call from Ethel Kennedy and Kerry Kennedy inviting him to Hyannis Port for a Fourth of July gathering.
According to the excerpt, Fauci wrote, “I received a call from Ethel and Kerry Kennedy explicitly inviting (me) up to Hyannisport for 4th of July weekend. They were so nice over the phone. They said that they loved and admired me and were so pleased that the Kennedy family could honor me.”
Kennedy accompanied the excerpt with a message defending Fauci. “Mum admired you, Dr Fauci, and considered you a hero, as do I,” she wrote.
She argued that publishing personal diaries should require evidence of wrongdoing. She said there is a broad consensus that private journals deserve protection unless they reveal corruption or abuse.
Kennedy accused Rand Paul of jeopardizing privacy rights by releasing thousands of pages of Fauci’s diaries.
“That’s no way to treat a citizen. That’s no way to treat a hero,” she wrote.
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Why were Fauci’s diaries released?
The diary controversy erupted after Senator Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s diary entries covering the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication came days before Fauci’s scheduled testimony before the committee on Wednesday.
According to CNN, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his department located the diary files on government servers after an eight-month search and turned them over to Paul. Fauci’s legal team has said he was not informed beforehand that the material would be made public.
The senator has long questioned Fauci’s handling of COVID-19 and his views on the virus’s origins. Paul has argued that the journals reveal differences between Fauci’s private thoughts and his public statements during the pandemic.
Media reports reviewing the journals said they include Fauci’s reflections on the pandemic, his interactions with former President Donald Trump, the intense public attention he received, and debates over the origins of COVID-19.
