Stephen and Katie Miller have repeatedly argued that former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci should face jail time over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. But newly released diary entries suggest the couple frequently turned to Fauci for guidance and reassurance during some of the pandemic’s most uncertain moments.
The revelations surfaced after Fauci appeared before a Senate hearing on Wednesday, where he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. During hours of testimony, the former public health official declined to answer questions more than 100 times, refusing to respond on grounds that his answers could potentially be used against him.
The hearing came just as Fauci’s personal diaries were made public by the office of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., providing a detailed look into his interactions with government officials throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
Among the entries are multiple references to Stephen and Katie Miller, who apparently maintained regular contact with Fauci as the pandemic unfolded. According to a report by NOTUS, the diary entries show Fauci offering reassurance to Katie Miller after she tested positive for Covid while pregnant.
In a May 9, 2020 diary entry, Fauci described speaking with her repeatedly as she worried about becoming seriously ill.
“I am calling katie frequently to check on her couple [sic] time per day. She is very anxious about getting very ill since she is 10 weeks pregnant. Tonight she had an anxiety reaction. I calmed her over the phone,” Fauci wrote.
The diaries indicate that the communication between Fauci and the Millers continued throughout the year. The entries describe additional conversations after Stephen Miller later tested positive for Covid.
One diary entry dated Oct. 6, 2020 notes that Fauci spoke with Katie Miller several times, including while she was at Houston airport and again after she landed.
By the end of the year, the relationship appeared to remain active. In an entry dated Dec. 31, 2020, Fauci wrote, “Am on phone frequently with katie and Stephen.”
The diaries were released shortly before Fauci’s contentious exchange with Paul during Wednesday’s Senate hearing. At one point during the proceedings, Fauci accused the Kentucky Republican of having an “unhinged obsession” with him as lawmakers questioned his conduct during the pandemic.
Katie Miller, who served as a spokesperson for the White House Coronavirus Task Force at the start of the pandemic before becoming then-Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, downplayed the significance of the conversations with Fauci.
Speaking with NOTUS, she said the calls stemmed from work-related discussions rather than any close personal relationship.
“He was not my doctor. He was not my friend. He was a work colleague who called me for work purposes, and in the course of a phone call, you would discuss other things,” she told the outlet.
Miller also suggested there was another reason for maintaining a cordial relationship with Fauci. She told NOTUS that she intentionally allowed him to believe they were friendly because she did not want him to “leak against me or my husband.”
“I understood who he was, and I understood how to manage somebody like him,” she said.
[READ MORE: Rand Paul Orders Fauci Attorney Removed After Former Adviser Invokes Fifth Amendment]
