Journalists Want To Bury Their Fawning Friendship With Fauci

Tim Graham on Jul 31, 2026

The spectacle of Dr. Anthony Fauci refusing to answer questions from senators by repeatedly citing his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination was blatantly ridiculous. A man who never found a microphone he didn't like was refusing to engage in defending his record. Then the elitist media that claim to be all about transparency and accountability rushed to his defense.

Sen. Rand Paul's release of Fauci's writings on his government computer revealed just how cozy the wily doctor was with the network news stars in 2020, from George Stephanopoulos to Chuck Todd to Jake Tapper. This was an obvious reason for the networks to bury the story of these writings.

It was all reminiscent of 2016, when Wikileaks dropped a pile of communications between Hillary Clinton aide John Podesta and other Democrats and political journalists. The networks discussed the leaked documents about the Clinton campaign vs. the Bernie Sanders campaign. But they weren't going to discuss the chummy content between Podesta and the "objective" reporters.

Wikileaks exposed that in 2015, NBC's Chuck Todd invited Podesta (among others) to their home for "Cocktails & Dinner in honor of" Jennifer Palmieri, another Clinton staffer, and her Democrat husband, Jim Lyons. Wikileaks revealed CNN asked the Democratic National Committee for questions to ask Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. What we're never told is how cooperative the journalists were with the Democrat suggestions.

This is, in a word, collusion -- a complete blur between journalists and Democrats, all seeking the same political objectives. But the media that claims to be all for democracy and transparency hide their inner chumminess in concocting the "news" product while pretending there is no secretive alliance.

In mid-October 2016, CNN's Brian Stelter denied the flaming mountain of Wikileaks collusion: "In Trump's world, journalists are really just Clinton campaign workers in disguise collaborating with her in an attempt to rig the election. This is not just false, it's ludicrous and it's damaging."

Fast-forward to 2020. Now, Fauci revealed two dinners at Jake Tapper's house, and called it "friendship building." Just like CNN and the DNC in 2016, Tapper asked Fauci to suggest spicy questions for a hardball interview with a Trump official on COVID policy.

This is why the networks settled with Trump in his defamation suits -- they didn't want Trump officials rifling through internal emails that would demonstrate, like Fauci's diaries did, the way "mainstream" reporters conduct their business. Dig down several layers and you find there is no distance between most journalists and Democrats. There is an ongoing partnership. They "rig" every campaign.

"Journalists need sources, and friendships aren't uncommon," wrote the Wall Street Journal editorial board about Fauci's messages. "But the conformist media idolatry of Dr. Fauci was a way of shutting off debate over Covid policy. It also became a way for the press to attack President Trump in an election year."

These friendly sources can have their names on the record, when their weighty authority can be milked, or they can share their hot takes as anonymous "senior government officials." It all depends on which concoction is needed in the "news" cycle.

During the pandemic, Dr. Fauci was an integral cog in the Democrat messaging machine, and they love it the most when the partisans can be painted as nonpartisans, that a political activist like Fauci can be presented as the quintessential fact-based scientist and public servant. All of them wanted to use COVID to remove Trump from office, and they succeeded -- for a time.

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Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.