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Politics28 outlets ran this5 min read

Senate panel obtains Fauci’s iPhone ahead of contempt vote

Republican-led subcommittee to vote on holding former NIAID director in contempt after he invoked Fifth Amendment over 100 times

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Dr. Anthony Fauci waits for the start of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 29, 2026.

What this story says

  • The Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Sen. Ron Johnson, obtained a copy of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s iPhone from the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • The subcommittee plans to vote on holding Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times during a hearing last week.
  • Fauci’s phone was used during his tenure as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, covering the COVID-19 pandemic period.
  • The Wall Street Journal first reported the acquisition of the phone, which Republicans say may address unanswered questions from the hearing.

Who covered it

Left 7%(2)Centre 43%(12)Right 50%(14)

Percentages are shares of the 28 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .

Trust

68/100

Craft

95/100

Hype

30/100

28 sources · methodology

Thin on the left so far

Only 2 of the 28 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

A Senate subcommittee investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci has obtained a copy of his iPhone, which he used during his time as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The Department of Health and Human Services provided the device to the panel, chaired by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, as reported by CNN and confirmed by multiple outlets.

The acquisition comes ahead of a planned vote by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Fauci, who retired from his role at NIAID, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a hearing last week. Republicans had sought his testimony as part of an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and his role in the pandemic response.

Sen. Rand Paul, who chairs the full committee, subpoenaed Fauci in June and has stated that the panel does not require a full Senate vote to refer him for contempt charges. If the committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt, the matter would be sent to the Department of Justice for potential action. The vote is scheduled for 6 August 2026.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned that Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times during the hearing. The preemptive pardon issued by President Biden was reported only by CNN. The release of Fauci’s personal diary entries, which documented his interactions with media and concerns about COVID-19, was also omitted from all centre-rated and right-rated digests.

Tags:#AnthonyFauci#USPolitics#COVID19Investigation#SenateHearing#ContemptOfCongress#FifthAmendment

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 6 Aug 2026, 12:30, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

2 rated outlets

  • The only left-rated report, published by CNN, led on the subcommittee’s acquisition of Fauci’s iPhone and the impending contempt vote. It included Fauci’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during the hearing and noted that Democrats view the investigation as an effort to downplay the severity of the pandemic. The report also mentioned that President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci during his final days in office, shielding him from potential charges related to his past statements.
  • CNN quoted Sen. Ron Johnson’s statement on social media: “Hopefully, this device will address many of the questions he refused to answer at last week’s hearing.” The report also detailed the release of Fauci’s personal diary entries from 2019 to 2022, which documented his media appearances, interactions with celebrities, and concerns about COVID-19.

Centre

12 rated outlets

  • The 12 centre-rated digests uniformly reported that the Senate subcommittee obtained Fauci’s iPhone and that a contempt vote is scheduled. Most digests noted that the Department of Health and Human Services provided the phone and that the Wall Street Journal was the first to report the acquisition. Several digests mentioned Fauci’s repeated invocation of the Fifth Amendment during the hearing.
  • The Wall Street Journal’s digest, which was the first to report the story, framed the acquisition as part of Republicans’ increased scrutiny of Fauci’s actions during the pandemic. It noted that the subcommittee could vote on holding him in contempt on 6 August 2026. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the preemptive pardon by President Biden or the release of Fauci’s personal diary entries.

Right

14 rated outlets

  • The 14 right-rated digests led on the acquisition of Fauci’s phone and the impending contempt vote, often framing it as a significant development in the investigation into his pandemic conduct. Several digests, including those from Fox News and Breitbart, described the phone as a “forensic copy” or “COVID-era” device, emphasising its potential to reveal information about Fauci’s actions during the pandemic.
  • Fox News and The Gateway Pundit noted that the phone was obtained as Sen. Rand Paul prepared a contempt hearing over gain-of-function research, a focus of Republican criticism. The Gateway Pundit’s digest quoted Sen. Ron Johnson directly, stating he had obtained Fauci’s “COVID-era iPhone from HHS.” None of the right-rated digests mentioned Fauci’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times or the preemptive pardon by President Biden.

Read it at the source

28 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

2

Centre

12
Show 4 more

Right

14
Show 6 more

Not rated

0

No outlet in this group ran the story.

How did this read?

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