Verdict with Ted Cruz
Verdict with Ted Cruz

Bonus: Daily Review with Clay and Buck - Jul 30 2026

July 31, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Fauci's Fifth Amendment: The Diary That Broke the Defense

Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights 111 times during a congressional hearing, but it was his own diary entries—released on a government server—that did the real damage. The hearing marked a turning point in how the COVID era will be remembered, because the diaries eliminated the last plausible defense Fauci and his allies had: that he was simply a scientist doing his best under impossible conditions.

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton argue that the diaries reveal something far worse than bad judgment. They show a man who was "obsessed with how much attention he was getting" at the peak of a national crisis. Fauci wrote about his own handsomeness, about Julia Roberts having "a twinkle in her eye" during their conversations about mitigation measures, and about being "the most famous person in the world." As Buck Sexton put it, "There's no fog of war defense when you're writing about how you're the most famous person in the world while you're telling everybody if they hug grandma you're gonna kill her."

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:56) **Fauci's Fifth Amendment Hearing** - Clay and Buck open by reacting to Dr. Anthony Fauci invoking his Fifth Amendment rights 111 times during yesterday's congressional testimony.
  • 2 (08:58) **Fauci's Pardon and Fifth Amendment Contradiction** - The hosts examine the legal paradox of Fauci accepting a preemptive pardon from Joe Biden and then pleading the Fifth.
  • 3 (13:52) **Legal Analysis: Can Fauci Plead the Fifth After a Pardon?** - Clay provides his legal take on the constitutional question raised by Rand Paul.
  • 4 (18:40) **Senator Eric Schmidt Interview: College Sports Act** - Missouri Senator Eric Schmidt joins to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the College Sports Act.
  • 5 (24:37) **Senator Schmidt on Todd Blanche Nomination and Senate Map** - Schmidt discusses the stalled Todd Blanche nomination and the 2026 Senate landscape.
  • 6 (30:28) **Senator Schmidt on Fauci Accountability** - Schmidt reflects on his experience as Missouri AG suing the Biden administration over COVID mandates.
  • 7 (34:27) **Spain's Mass Amnesty and EU Migration Crisis** - The show turns to international news, focusing on Spain's amnesty for up to 3 million illegal immigrants.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Show Notes

Meet my friends, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton!  If you love Verdict, the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show might also be in your audio wheelhouse. Politics, news analysis, and some pop culture and comedy thrown in too.

 

Here’s a sample episode recapping four takeaways. Give the guys a listen and then follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton discuss COVID-19 accountability, government decision-making, and the long-term historical assessment of public health leadership. Clay and Buck examined the extent of Fauci’s influence over national pandemic policy, arguing that state shutdowns, masking policies, and other mitigation measures reflected his recommendations. They contrasted Fauci’s approach with governors who resisted prolonged lockdowns, particularly Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, while also discussing how red-state leadership during the pandemic may be viewed by future historians. Senator Rand Paul’s years-long effort to investigate Fauci and challenge COVID-era narratives was also highlighted as a significant part of the conversation.

 

An extended interview with U.S. Senator Eric Schmidt of Missouri. The interview began with discussion of the Sophie Cunningham controversy and broader questions surrounding women’s sports and public reaction to gender-related debates. Senator Schmidt criticized the treatment of young fans attending sporting events and suggested sports organizations should focus on growing and supporting their audiences rather than alienating them.


The conversation then shifted to college sports and NIL reform, with Schmidt providing an update on ongoing negotiations surrounding proposed federal legislation affecting college athletics. Topics included Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rules, transfer portal concerns, athlete eligibility, conference governance, revenue sharing, media rights, and efforts to bring greater stability to college football and college sports overall. Schmidt described conversations with leaders from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 and discussed ongoing efforts to build consensus around a national framework for collegiate athletics.

 

Clay and Buck continued discussing the controversy surrounding women’s sports and biological males competing in women’s athletics, revisiting arguments from earlier in the program. The hosts humorously speculated about a hypothetical basketball game featuring conservative media personalities competing against WNBA players and debated which well-known political and media figures would make up their roster. While presented largely as entertainment, the conversation tied back into their broader discussion about athletic competition, competitive fairness, and the ongoing national debate over gender and sports. 

 

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