'Just incredible': Analyst dissects Fox News' week of lies about Fauci's diary

Fox News has spent a lot of airtime talking about the personal diaries of Anthony Fauci, but most of it has been complete hot air, according to one analyst.

Last week, Fox News devoted significant time to reviewing and reporting on Fauci's diary, which some Republicans released ahead of a contentious hearing he attended about the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans painted Fauci as an egomaniac who was out for fame, even as the 85-year-old former White House physician pled the Fifth more than 100 times.

Will Saletan, a writer at The Bulwark, analyzed several of the clips Fox News played for its audience in a new podcast episode. He found that many of them were based on fabricated claims from Trump officials like Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

One of the claims that Saletan harped on was Kennedy's insistence that multiple government agencies listed "pulmonary infarction" as a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Saletan said Kennedy was "just lying" about the claim altogether.

There's nothing about pulmonary infarction on this list. Kennedy told you there was, but there isn't. In fact, pulmonary infarction is not an expected adverse event from the vaccines," Saletan said. "Why did Kennedy say it was? Because that's what he does. He makes things up."

Saletan also addressed Fox News' claim that Fauci was more concerned about fame than helping Americans during the pandemic.

"Look, it's not Fauci who wanted to tell everybody about his personal life," Saletan said. "It's these scumbags who dug up the diary and plastered it all over TV. The dishonesty on Fox [News] is just incredible."