Sens. Ron Johnson and Rand Paul released an initial batch of 34,000 text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government cellphone, revealing private discussions from January 2021 with top health officials about a potential first-trimester miscarriage risk associated with second-dose COVID-19 mRNA vaccine fevers.
Inside Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Government Cellphone Release
Congressional investigators have opened a new window into the early pandemic decisions of federal health leadership. A pair of Senate Republicans leading ongoing inquiries into the federal pandemic response released an initial batch of text messages obtained from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued cell phone, according to wsj.com.
The device contains more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails. The release was spearheaded by Sens. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) and Rand Paul (R., Ky.), who oversee parallel committee investigations into how federal agencies handled the public health crisis.
Private Deliberations Over First-Trimester Miscarriage Risks
Among the newly public records is a text exchange from January 2021 involving Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who would later serve as surgeon general under President Joe Biden.
Fauci noted in a message that significant cytokine storms and fevers frequently followed the second dose of the vaccine, raising a specific clinical concern.
“I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of. Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Weighing Public Guidance Against Private Debates
By August 2021, the CDC’s official guidance stated that preliminary findings from its v-safe pregnancy registry suggested mRNA vaccination during early pregnancy did not increase miscarriage risk. Subsequent peer-reviewed studies published after Fauci left federal office have similarly found no evidence that vaccination directly increased miscarriage risk noted Townhall.
Broader Congressional Inquiries and Oversight Battles
The release of the text messages is part of a broader, sustained Republican congressional push targeting Fauci’s pandemic tenure. Separately, Sen. Roger Marshall (R., Kan.) urged the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate Fauci’s role in pandemic origins, federal funding for coronavirus research, and the oversight process nypost.com.
That push follows the release of intelligence files by former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard regarding gain-of-function research grants directed to EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. While former President Joe Biden issued a pre-emptive pardon absolving Fauci of federal offenses dating back to 2014, congressional investigators continue to examine his communications and agency oversight nypost.com.
Unresolved Questions and Future Review
Sen. Johnson’s office noted that the release questioned why only three contacts were listed by name while remaining contacts appeared as phone numbers foxnews.com. Investigators stated it remains too early to determine whether any data has been deleted or lost, and committee staff continue to sift through the tens of thousands of messages to separate public health records from personal communications.
