Robert F. Kennedy’s daughter Kerry Kennedy responds to release of Fauci’s diary: ‘Mom admires you and thinks you’re a hero’
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy and sister of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci was publicly defended.
Her comments came after Sen. Rand Paul released Fauci’s personal diary from the pandemic, reigniting debate over the publication of his private writings.
In a post on X, Kennedy said her late mother, Ethel Kennedy, admired Fauci and considered him a hero. She also criticized the publication of the diary, saying it violated his privacy. The comments come as Fauci faces new political scrutiny ahead of a Senate hearing on the origins of COVID-19.
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“Mom admires you, Dr. Fauci.”
Kerry Kennedy shared an excerpt she said was from Fauci’s diary. The passage describes a phone call from Ethel and Kerry Kennedy inviting him to a Fourth of July party in Hyannis Port.
According to an excerpt, Fauci wrote: “I received a call from Ethel and Kerry Kennedy explicitly inviting me to Hyannis Sports Center for the 4th of July weekend. They were very kind on the phone. They said they loved and admired me and were glad the Kennedy family was able to honor me.”
Kennedy also included a message defending Fauci in the excerpt. She wrote: “Dr. Fauci, Mom admires you and thinks you are a hero, and so do I.”
She believes publishing a personal diary should require proof of wrongdoing. She said there was widespread agreement that private journals should be protected unless they exposed corruption or abuse.
Kennedy accused Rand Paul of jeopardizing privacy rights by releasing thousands of pages of Fauci’s diaries.
“This is not the way to treat a citizen. This is not the way to treat a hero,” she wrote.
Why was Fauci’s diary released?
The diary controversy erupted after Sen. Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s diary about the COVID-19 pandemic. The publication comes days before Fauci is scheduled to testify before the committee on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his department found the diary files on a government server after an eight-month search and turned them over to Paul, CNN reported. Fauci’s legal team said he was not informed in advance that the materials would be released.
The senator has long questioned Fauci’s handling of COVID-19 and his views on the origins of the virus. Paul believes the diaries reveal the disparity between Fauci’s private thoughts and public statements during the pandemic.
Media reports reviewing the journals said they included Fauci’s reflections on the pandemic, his interactions with former President Donald Trump, the intense public attention he received, and the debate over the origins of COVID-19.
