David Berkowitz, dubbed the “Son of Sam” and infamous for his terrifying .44-caliber killings in New York, infamously toyed with the public through letters addressed to celebrated columnist Jimmy Breslin. Despite being incarcerated for nearly five decades, Berkowitz recently revealed his waning trust in the media, echoing sentiments from the onset of his infamous murder spree 50 years ago.

The terrifying saga began with Berkowitz’s first victim, 18-year-old Donna Lauria, who met a tragic end on July 29, 1976. Lauria was fatally shot as she exited an Oldsmobile in the Bronx, marking the start of a series of chilling crimes.

Although there was an effort to secure an interview for this story, Berkowitz declined through an intermediary. The request was made by Keith Rovere, host of the “Lighter Side of True Crime” podcast.

“I don’t trust the media,” he wrote to Rovere in a letter shared with News Media. “They will twist and distort whatever I say. Even recently they twisted my words concerning some changes in New York’s parole law which, in this instant, had nothing to do with me.”

New York lawmakers are mulling over bills that would create an elder parole system and abolish life without parole.

“They riled up a victim with a false information and a distortion, thus creating the victim needless grief and pain, and more,” he wrote. “This was not the first time. If the media wishes to know what I’ve been doing with my life, all they have to do is visit the website which has probably over a thousand pages of my prison writings and various videos, interviews and more, which viewers could easily access. Ariseandshine.org.”

In May, Berkowitz skipped a parole hearing and wrote in a letter to the New York Post that he wasn’t trying to get out.

“The only place I’m looking forward to going, is to heaven to be with the Lord,” the outlet quoted him as writing.

The Post asked “Son of Sam” survivor Robert Violante, 68, for a reaction:

“I sincerely doubt he is going to heaven,” he said. “He is lucky he is not already in hell.”

Violente survived a gunshot wound to the head on July 31, 1977. His date, 20-year-old Stacy Moskowitz, did not. She was Berkowitz’s final victim.

That was a year and two days after the first murder — Lauria’s.

Her friend and the car’s owner, 19-year-old Jody Valenti, was wounded but survived.

New York City saw a cool night, with lows in the 60s, after clouds and rain rolled in to break up scorching temperatures from the day before, according to Almanac.com. The Mets lost in extra innings to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1. The Yankees had a day off after toppling the Boston Red Sox, 6-4.

The shooting would become known as the first of what police initially called the .44-caliber killings. They terrified New Yorkers for a year. Young couples shied away from sitting in parked cars. Young women cut and dyed their hair, believing that the killer was targeting people with long, dark locks.

Valenti provided a crucial description of her attacker — a White male in his 30s with curly dark hair.

Still, it took months before police pieced together a pattern now known as the “Son of Sam” murders, when ballistic evidence linked the same gun to the July shooting and four more.

At that point, it was March 8, 1977, and Berkowitz had killed three and injured four.

In the lead-up to the one-year mark, he sent a note to the former New York columnist Jimmy Breslin, whom he had been taunting with letters signed, “Son of Sam.”

“Tell me, Jim, what will you have for July Twenty-Ninth?” he wrote to Breslin, according to one of his 1977 Daily News columns. “You can forget about me if you like because I don’t care for publicity. However, you must not forget Donna Lauria and you cannot let the people forget her, either. She was a very sweet girl but Sam’s a thirsty lad and he won’t let me stop killing until he gets his fill of blood.”

He went on to warn that while he’d been quiet, he hadn’t been inactive.

“I am still here,” he wrote. “Like a spirit roaming in the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest; anxious to please Sam. I love my work.”

Berkowitz’s letters showed the killer was following news coverage of the case, mocked police and cemented the “Son of Sam” moniker in place of the .44-caliber killer.

“I believe Berkowitz was focused on revenge, jealousy and attention, along with the feeling of power,” said John Kelly, a criminal profiler and the president of STALK Inc. “He felt he was unlovable and acted out his rage on couples who could share a romantic emotional moment. Something he felt he could never have.”

Though the night of July 29 came and went without a new victim, another shooting two days later proved key to Berkowitz’s arrest. Investigators, looking for suspicious vehicles in the area, found a parking ticket issued nearby. That led police to his door in Yonkers. He was arrested on Aug. 10, 1977.

By then, the shootings had killed six and injured seven.

When searching his house, detectives found evidence that he had been closely following other crimes as well.

According to an FBI publication from July 1980, Berkowitz kept notes on hundreds of fires near New York City in the years before his arrest. Police found handwritten notes about 1,411 incidents, with details including the weather, street name and firefighters’ response.

“He’s one of the few serial killers that I know that I believe has completely changed his ways,” said Rovere, a former prison pastor and the host of the “Lighter Side of True Crime” podcast who has been trading letters with Berkowitz for years.

Serving a life prison sentence, Berkowitz now claims to be a born-again Christian and calls himself the “Son of Hope.” His letters are now signed “Bro[ther] David” or, occasionally, with his full name. Most are typed, no longer handwritten.

He spends some of his time producing illustrated religious pamphlets and posts content on his website and working on his prison ministry.

Ali Najmi has filed a lawsuit against the city following a Central Park carriage accident—a case that presents a significant conflict of interest given his role as head of the judicial-nominations board under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Undoubtedly, the family of Romanch Mahajan, who tragically died after falling from a runaway carriage in Central Park, is entitled to legal representation.

However, Najmi’s position as their attorney creates a clear incompatibility with any city role, particularly one that involves the selection of future judges.

In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg; other conflicts should have precluded Najmi from his current position from the start.

It’s not merely that he operates a private practice focused on criminal defense, civil rights, and election law. He’s also “of counsel” at Liakas Law, a firm currently under federal scrutiny for allegedly running a fraudulent operation that preys on immigrants and other vulnerable groups through sham lawsuits and inflated medical billing.

There’s a policy issue, too: The ambulance-chasing Najmi benefits from Scaffold Law cases — which drive insurance premiums sky-high and ballooning housing construction costs by as much as 10%, undermining the mayor’s affordable-housing agenda.

Najmi had earlier served as Mamdani’s campaign lawyer; we understand why he might trust him — but also wonder if he’s one of the reasons the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary has not a single Jewish member.

Given how very many New York lawyers are Jews — including plenty of radicals who’d enthusiastically support the mayor’s agenda — it’s impossible not to think this was intentional discrimination.

City Hall says it did consider retired Appellate Division Justice John Leventhal for the committee, but he “did not pass our vetting process” because he “served on [Ghislaine] Maxwell’s legal team.”

Huh? If Team Mamdani is going to start holding lawyers’ past clients against them, they’d be unable to hire practically any criminal-defense lawyer.

Heck, Najmi runs that committee and is a top Mamdani political adviser, despite plenty of questionable clients.

We’re no fans of anyone in the mayor’s inner circle, but (setting ideology aside) Najmi has to be most questionable.

Reports have surfaced suggesting that Tehran contemplated launching an attack on a Ukrainian seaport in retaliation for an assault on an Iranian vessel en route to Russia. However, diplomatic efforts have reportedly eased tensions between the involved parties, according to recent findings.

This episode highlights the intertwining nature of ongoing global conflicts, illustrating how separate wars are beginning to converge, thereby hinting at a growing sense of worldwide instability.

The tension mounted following an offensive by Ukraine against an Iranian commercial cargo ship in the Caspian Sea on Saturday, an attack that tragically claimed the life of a civilian sailor. Both Ukraine and Iran have accused each other of collaborating with Russia to enhance military endeavors.

In response, the Islamic Republic declared its intention to strike back.

According to intelligence briefings disclosed by The New York Times, there was anticipation that Tehran might launch a ballistic missile armed with a small warhead at Ukraine. Such an action was expected to serve more as a symbolic gesture with minimal physical damage.

Other officials said the target was likely one of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. 

Any missile fired from Iran into Ukraine would be a dramatic escalation and risk triggering a wider conflict, given the tensions between the two nations over Tehran’s alliance with the Kremlin.

Islamic Republic officials said they hoped the conflict would end with their retaliatory attack, but Western officials warned that it was hard to predict how Ukraine would respond. 

On Sunday, Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, called Kyiv’s attack a violation of the UN charter aimed at dragging Europe into Tehran’s war with Washington. 

In a social media post, he said the incident ‘CANNOT GO UNANSWERED’.

A US blockade of Iranian Persian Gulf ports has made Tehran’s trade with Moscow across the Caspian Sea more vital. 

The Caspian Sea has emerged as an important supply route for both overt and covert trade.

But on Tuesday, after Ukrainian diplomats intervened to ease tensions, Mr. Araghchi spoke by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha.

Following the exchange, Mr. Araghchi wrote in a post that Mr. Sybiha had described the attack on the cargo ship as unintentional. 

‘Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable,’ Mr. Araghchi wrote. 

‘There must be restitution for losses.’

The Iranian foreign minister announced on his official webpage that he also spoke to Kaja Kallas, the top European Union diplomat, discussing ‘ways to help decrease tensions in the region’.

The Ukrainian attack came after Zelensky said on Saturday he would share evidence with the US showing Russia is assisting Iran in targeting US bases in the Middle East through satellite surveillance.

Taking to X, the Ukrainian leader wrote: ‘Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and US military facilities located there.

‘These images subsequently appear in Iran. At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes – both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted.’

The new developments follow months of speculation that the two conflicts are intertwining.

Iran has claimed it is not involved in Russia’s war on Ukraine, although Kyiv has said Tehran is supplying drones to the Kremlin.

The Islamic Republic also called on European countries to hold Ukraine accountable.

The strike fuelled speculation in Tehran that it was intended as a warning that Iran’s Caspian coastline is vulnerable and could be used as leverage in future negotiations with the US, according to the Financial Times.

Although the Caspian Sea lies more than 600 miles from the front line in Russia’s war with Ukraine, Kyiv has steadily expanded its long-range drone capabilities, allowing it to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. 

After inflicting heavy damage on Russia’s oil infrastructure and contributing to fuel shortages, that capability is increasingly being viewed as a potential factor in the wider confrontation involving Iran.

Hamidreza Azizi, an Iran expert at the SWP Berlin think-tank, outlined several possible explanations for Ukraine’s strike on the Iranian-linked vessel. 

Writing on X, he said one possibility is that Kyiv wanted to reinforce its value as a strategic partner to Washington, which continues to supply crucial military support, including Patriot air defence systems. 

According to Azizi, such an operation would not have been possible without approval from the US and its Western allies.

Another interpretation is that the US and Israel encouraged Ukraine to increase pressure on Tehran because they feared direct attacks on Iranian infrastructure could provoke retaliation against key economic assets across the region. 

A third possibility, wrote Azizi, is that the strike was linked to threats made by Yemen’s Houthi rebels against shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a route that Saudi Arabia has relied on to export oil while avoiding the Strait of Hormuz.

The US was able to thwart an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan Tuesday night as they worked with Saudi Arabia to strike bases in Iraq used by Tehran-backed militias.

The US-Saudi attack on the base in Northern Iraq left eight members of the Iran-backed militia dead, according to the Iraqi armed group’s command.  

The attacks were the first military moves between the two nations since President Trump paused strikes to give diplomacy a chance.

Trump had met earlier in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The Iraqi bases were used by Iranian militias to launch attacks in recent days, CENTCOM said.   

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces called the attacks a ‘highly dangerous escalation.’

The strike came after US forces said missiles from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps were intercepted in Jordan.

The attack in Jordan took place at approximately 5.45pm ET on US forces based in the Middle East, US Central Command confirmed.  

‘All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted. US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness,’ CENTCOM said in a statement. 

The US also warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure risked additional action. 

The US and Iran had experienced a brief period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for days following weeks of escalation over the Strait of Hormuz. 

Sheriff Chris Nanos of Pima County remains “still positive” about resolving the case of Nancy Guthrie. The investigation persists as detectives sift through evidence 25 weeks after her abduction during a home invasion in Tucson, Arizona.

“We have so much DNA to sort through,” Nanos shared in an interview aired on “Today.”

Nancy Guthrie is the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, a co-host on the “Today” show.

“We have so much, in terms of video evidence, to look at,” Nanos continued. “So I’m still positive that we’re here to resolve this case.”

The sheriff’s remarks came hours after Savannah Guthrie released a new video plea to her mother’s abductors on Instagram, urging them to “make the right choice” and tell the family where to look for her.

A federal source told Fox News Monday that Guthrie consulted with law enforcement before releasing the video.

“It’s not clear why Savannah decided to release this message now, but it could be a response to a potential new line of communication,” Guthrie’s NBC colleague Erin McLaughlin reported Tuesday. “Experts say the language appears to be pointed at whoever committed the crime, though law enforcement have not provided any public updates in the investigation recently.”

Recent comments from FBI Director Kash Patel explained the technical process investigators used to recover cached recordings from Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera that were facing imminent deletion in a back-end Google system. But Patel made the video public back on Feb. 10.

Nanos did not immediately respond to follow-up questions from News Media. Investigators had scoured the neighborhoods surrounding Guthrie’s home and her daughter Annie’s house nearby in search of video evidence that might show a suspect or suspect vehicle earlier in the investigation.

“I wonder how many ‘leads’ they’ve covered,” said Jason Pack, a retired FBI supervisory agent who has been closely following the case. “There would be thousands…running down every device on the phone tower and their Wi-Fi router etc.”

The case would not be considered cold until all potential leads are exhausted without answers, experts have told News Media, and Pack said it doesn’t appear to have gone cold yet.

“If the sheriff says they have that much DNA and all of that video, then I don’t think you can call it cold until they’ve rectified those leads one way or the other,” he said.

There are likely terabytes worth of digital evidence in the case, he said.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. An anonymous reward can also be obtained by calling 520-88-CRIME with information that leads to an arrest in the case.

“It’s a lot of pressure on criminals to keep such a hard secret, especially something so high profile,” Pack added. “You have the pressure from others involved of potentially being killed for talking or ratting them out. And the pressure of the over million-dollar reward on the other side.”

Prominent conservative health advocate Alex Clark recently opened up on the “Pod Force One” show about a surge of death threats she’s faced for promoting healthier eating habits among Americans.

As the voice behind Turning Point USA’s “Culture Apothecary” podcast, Clark attributed the rise in threats to what she described as the growing “assassination culture” among left-wing groups, especially following the tragic killing of Charlie Kirk.

“Since Charlie’s untimely death, the volume of threats directed at me has been overwhelming,” Clark shared with Lydia Moynihan, who guest-hosted the episode. “Surprisingly, while some threats are indeed from the left, quite a few originate from fans of Candace Owens.”

Clark, who has championed the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, expressed frustration over needing constant security during her campus visits. Despite her focus on health and wellness, the threats persist.

“I wouldn’t normally be seen as a major threat by the left given my style of Turning Point engagements, yet armed security has become a necessity for me,” she lamented. “They’ve even suggested I consider wearing a bulletproof vest. I’m merely advocating for wholesome eating… Just a few years ago, such precautions would have seemed unimaginable to me.”

Clark called it “a really scary time” to be a Christian conservative in the US. 

“I don’t know that in history it’s ever been harder to be openly conservative and openly Christian in the United States of America,” she told “Pod Force One,” arguing that if you’re “a conservative walking around in a MAGA hat, you have such a massive target on you, and it’s very scary.” 

Clark, who has developed a massive conservative female following, was also asked about how she’s been able to win over so many women – who historically lean more toward the political left.  

“So, I think historically the way to reach women has always been through culture, and the left … they dominate pop culture, so I think that avenue really belongs to the left,” she explained.

“And what we really have is the opportunity to step in when it comes to parenting and health and food and family; those are things that I think the conservative movement can really own, and we can reach women through.”

In terms of the MAHA movement, Clark teased that “chemicals in our clothing” will be a big issue for health-conscious voters in the coming year. 

Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington on ‘Pod Force One.’ Subscribe here!

“The thing is that I’m super passionate about, I think that 2026, mark my words, 2026 has really been the year of pesticides. I think 2027, when it comes to MAHA voters, is going to be the year of chemicals in our clothing,” she said. 

“I think we are starting to see the very beginning tide changing here on natural fiber and organic cotton clothing, and a big huge war on polyester.” 

Clark noted that clothing chemical laws in the US “have not been updated since the 1940s” and that with “the rise of eczema and skin sensitivities,” more Americans should be aware of the outdated laws on the books. 

She argued that taking on chemicals in clothes is “an easy thing that the FDA could say that we are going to start doing in America.”

Emma Roberts radiated happiness as she stood beside Cody John at the altar, exchanging vows on his family’s picturesque property in Idaho this past Saturday.

The 35-year-old actress beamed with a joyful smile as she said “I do” to her 36-year-old husband, surrounded by loved ones including her famous aunt, Julia Roberts, and Hollywood stars such as Kristen Stewart and Demi Moore.

However, one notable absence was her father, Eric Roberts, the 70-year-old actor, who did not attend the ceremony.

Insider sources revealed to the Daily Mail that ongoing tensions between Emma and her father were the reason behind his absence from the celebration.

“Emma did not invite her father to her wedding because she prefers to keep her distance from him,” a source shared with the Daily Mail. “Her friends and family know better than to suggest otherwise.”

‘She has been mad at him for many years, mostly because she feels he has not been a supportive father. He wasn’t around when she was young.’

Eric later said in a statement to the Daily Mail that he ‘loves’ his daughter and felt it was ‘perfectly wonderful for her to celebrate however she wants, with whomever she wants.’ 

Eric himself admitted in April during an appearance on the Really Famous with Kara Mayer Robinson podcast that he was ‘not to be depended on emotionally whatsoever’ when Roberts was a child and his career was flourishing with hit films like The Cable Guy and Heaven’s Prisoners in the mid 1990s.

He also wrote in his 2024 book Runaway Train that he ‘abandoned’ Roberts when she was seven months old. ‘I loved my little daughter with the strength of Hercules, despite my own weaknesses,’ he wrote. ‘However, I couldn’t handle the realities of an infant coming into my life, and I couldn’t handle being a parent! I’m still not a father figure.’

In the memoir, Eric also revealed that he had battled a drug problem. ‘The biggest consequence of my drug use was losing Emma,’ he wrote. ‘I never saw myself as someone who deserved to have physical custody of Emma, not in a million years.’

A source told the Daily Mail that Eric was ‘simply not around much’ and it was Roberts’ mother, Kelly Cunningham, who did all the hard work. According to the source, Eric instead spent most of his time with his wife Eliza, whom he wed in 1992, a year after Roberts was born.

Then Roberts’ career surprisingly took off. When she was ten years old, she was given a small part as the daughter of Johnny Depp’s drug dealer in the 2001 film Blow.

‘Emma became in demand, everyone wanted to hire her,’ said the source. ‘And she wanted to act! She was into it. She got a manager and agent, everything.’

And when her film Aquamarine became a hit with teens in 2006, Roberts quickly became one of Hollywood’s busiest young stars, following up with roles in the Nancy Drew movie in 2007, the movie Wild Child in 2008 and the TV series Unfabulous.

‘Suddenly Emma started having this big teen career when her dad started working less,’ said the source. ‘There was a big shift.’ According to the source, Roberts’ success caused issues in the family, as Eric ‘became competitive.’

‘When she got famous, he became competitive with her, his ego was in overdrive, and he was like, what about me?’ noted the source. ‘So the pain goes way back.’

When Roberts hit her twenties, Eric reportedly began to regret how hard he’d been on his daughter. ‘He knows he made mistakes and he has apologized,’ said the source.

At some point, however, Roberts turned her back on her father. ‘It was over a decade ago. She has bad feelings and she won’t forgive him,’ the source added.

‘He didn’t raise her, her mother Kelly did, so it’s complicated. Emma is super close to her mother Kelly, they talk every day, because Kelly has been by Emma’s side every step of the way, she has been an amazing mother and supports her with her career, her life, she guides her in every way.’

Now, Eric is pretty much out of her life. 

‘Emma has not gone to her dad’s birthdays at the Back on the Beach Cafe in Santa Monica or Father’s Day brunches for many years and it breaks his heart but what can he do? He can’t do anything about it. They don’t hang out. It’s very sad and it bothers him a great deal,’ added the source.

‘Eric may have been a jerk when he was younger because I think fame overwhelmed him. He is a sweet man now, though.’

And a reunion seems unlikely. According to the source, ‘Eric has given up on reaching out to Emma. She knows that if she wants a relationship, he is there for her. He doesn’t see Emma or her son Rhodes, they don’t talk.’

Last week, the Daily Mail was invited to Eric and Eliza Roberts’ house, which sits on a quiet street in Sherman Oaks, California, where the average home price is around $1.7 million.

While there was no talk of Roberts’ impending wedding, she was still a presence in the room. A framed photograph of a smiling young Roberts was displayed prominently on Eric’s office desk next to notes and scripts the actor is reading for an upcoming TV project.

As far as Roberts’ actress aunt Julia, 58, that relationship is also complex, a second source told the Daily Mail.

‘When Emma was starting out in Hollywood, she really wanted to do well, she really wanted a great career, but Julia did not help her out,’ said the source.

‘It was nothing personal, it was just that Julia has a “no help” policy. She never helps anyone with their careers because she feels it is better if people make it on their own.’

About 15 years ago, however, Julia became closer to Roberts.

‘They became a lot closer at some point, with Julia always including Emma in family stuff,’ said the second source. ‘Julia has been a great aunt. Emma and Julia have become closer over the years, so it’s not a shock Julia was at the wedding. Emma really likes Danny and Julia’s kids, so they are close.’

Julia and Eric are ‘not super close, though they do talk,’ added the second source. 

According to the source, some of the tension between the siblings stems from past instances in which he allegedly shared details about her personal life. 

In 2022, he told the Behind The Velvet Rope With David Yontef podcast: ‘She’s got these three adolescent children now. I mean, her life, her life is not a day at the beach, dude. You know? And, and she’s got a lot of s**t she has to deal with.’

‘When Eric told the world that Julia has her hands full because she has teenagers, Julia got pissed and told him to stop talking to the press,’ said the source. ‘Eric has a big mouth, because he is just that way, he is unfiltered, so no one in the family tells him much.’

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Roberts, Eric and Julia for comment. 

In a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, Eric also claimed that both his daughter and Julia owed their success to him: ‘If it weren’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that.’

Eric added: ‘When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, “Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?” And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I’m proud of that.’

In September 2024, Eric apologized for his comments in his memoir Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far, saying that his sister would have become successful on her own. ‘I hope Julie will accept this more public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said. I was proud of her, but it was pride turned on its head, to my own advantage,’ he wrote.

In April, Eric said during the It Happened in Hollywood podcast that he gets along with Julia and any rumors of a rift are untrue. ‘We’re fine. We have disagreements, as people do, but we like and respect each other very much,’ he said.

‘She’s a wonderful actor, she’s a wonderful human. I think she’s even a wonderful mother – that’s the hardest job there is,’ he continued. ‘So, you know, she’s a cool chick and I like her.’

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key figure in orchestrating America’s COVID-19 battle, is once again preparing to confront a Republican senator investigating the virus’s origins.

Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky has issued a subpoena demanding Fauci’s presence at a Senate committee meeting this Wednesday. Paul has long accused the retired infectious disease specialist of deceitful conduct during the pandemic, accusations Fauci dismisses as “absurd.”

In anticipation of the hearing, Paul divulged a substantial collection of over a thousand pages from Fauci’s personal pandemic-era journal. He highlighted entries that questioned the initial stages of tracing the virus’s origin, suggesting on the social platform X that Fauci’s private thoughts contradicted his public statements.

Some of these diary notes reveal the confusion during the pandemic’s onset as researchers worldwide hurried to decode the virus and devise containment strategies before vaccines became available. These entries echo content in Fauci’s upcoming 2024 memoir and interviews from that chaotic period.

Nevertheless, these pages are poised to stoke the political firestorm that, despite the pandemic’s passage, persists against Fauci. He is frequently blamed for instigating mask mandates and other measures viewed by critics as assaults on personal freedom amidst the pandemic’s deadly toll.

In an earlier letter to Paul, Fauci’s attorneys called his allegations “absolutely baseless” and part of an “obsessive and groundless vendetta.”

Scientists scrambled to Fauci’s defense ahead of the unusual hearing – the second time the longtime National Institutes of Health scientist has been back before Congress to discuss pandemic origins since leaving the government in 2022. While the COVID-19 pandemic introduced him to millions of Americans, he talked the nation through numerous outbreaks over decades, including HIV, Ebola and the 2001 anthrax attacks, while advising seven presidents.

In a public letter, more than 150 infectious disease experts and other scientists wrote that “no credible evidence has been produced to support these absurd charges” and that they are “urging our elected representatives in Congress stop these witch-hunts.”

The expected crux of Wednesday’s hearing: whether NIH-funded research in China may have played any role in how the pandemic started.

Many scientists believe the virus most likely emerged in nature and jumped from animals to people, coming to light when it spread at a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. There’s no new scientific information supporting that the virus might instead have leaked from a laboratory, a theory Paul champions. A GOP-led subcommittee that studied the question in 2024 did not find any evidence linking Fauci to wrongdoing.

Fauci has long said publicly that he was open to both theories, but that there’s more evidence supporting COVID-19’s natural origins, the way other deadly viruses including coronavirus cousins SARS and MERS jumped into people.

Republicans also have accused Fauci of lying about whether his agency funded “gain of function” research – the practice of enhancing a virus in a lab to study its potential real-world impact – at a lab in Wuhan.

NIH for years gave grants to a New York nonprofit called EcoHealth Alliance that used some of the funds to work with a Chinese lab studying coronaviruses commonly carried by bats. But the definition of “gain of function” covers both general research and especially risky experiments to “enhance” the ability of potentially pandemic pathogens to spread or cause severe disease in humans. Fauci has previously stressed he was using the risky experiment definition and that “it would be molecularly impossible” for those bat virus experiments to have turned into the pandemic virus.

The Trump administration last year paused some federally funded gain-of-function research and on Tuesday announced new rules to tighten oversight.