Dr. Anthony Fauci held a “very good talk” in July 2022 with Sam Bankman-Fried to discuss pandemic preparedness months before news broke that the cryptocurrency tycoon was a fraudster. AdvertisementThe diary did not indicate that Fauci and Bankman-Fried spoke after the meeting or that Fauci had any knowledge of Bankman-Fried’s criminal enterprise. That funding came from Sam Bankman-Fried, who, at the time, was one of the world’s youngest billionaires. “Sam is a good friend of senator Joe Manchin and Joe is the one who originally pointed Sam in my direction,” Fauci wrote. SAM BANKMAN-FRIED APPLIES FOR PARDON Advertisement The meeting with Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the many that Fauci held with the rich and powerful in the aftermath of the pandemic.