Former President Joe Biden may have granted a pardon, yet Dr. Anthony Fauci’s legal challenges are far from resolved.
On Monday, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul announced the issuance of subpoenas to 14 agencies in an effort to uncover any information they may possess regarding the origins of COVID-19 and the “taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research.” This was detailed in a press release.
“Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, revealed that the Committee has subpoenaed fourteen agencies from the outgoing Biden-Harris administration concerning the origins of COVID-19 and taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research. These subpoenas were issued in accordance with the Committee’s rules at the time, with no objections from the minority. The rules, which were unanimously adopted for the 119th Congress, grant the Chairman the authority to issue such subpoenas independently,” the press release stated.
“The subpoenas, dispatched on January 13, 2025, are a continuation of the Committee’s joint investigation into national security threats associated with high-risk biological research and technology both domestically and internationally. The Committee has conducted bipartisan hearings to scrutinize the oversight of taxpayer-funded high-risk virus research, held the first comprehensive Senate Committee hearing on the origins of COVID-19, and overwhelmingly passed Dr. Paul’s Risky Research Review Act,” the release further noted.
“The agencies targeted by the subpoenas include the National Institutes of Health, Department of State, United States Agency for International Development, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Council, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Office of Science and Technology Policy,” it concluded.
Following Anthony Fauci’s preemptive pardon, several inquiries remain unresolved. Who at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) authorized funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and what were the reasons for bypassing the P3CO safety committee’s review? For the past four years, I have sought records from the NIH and other relevant agencies concerning the discussions that led to the decision to forgo oversight by the safety committee, yet I have faced significant obstacles in obtaining this information, the senator stated in a press release.
Today, I am announcing that subpoenas have been issued by the Committee to the NIH and thirteen additional agencies regarding their roles in high-risk gain-of-function research. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate the procedures that permitted such hazardous research, which may have contributed to the pandemic, to be conducted abroad under inadequate safety protocols. We aim to ensure that robust oversight and review mechanisms are established to prevent a recurrence of such a grave error, he added.
Due to President Biden’s preemptive pardon, Fauci is unable to invoke his Fifth Amendment right and is required to respond to inquiries, likely under oath, as noted by University of Baltimore law professor Kimberly Wehle in an interview with Newsweek.
The pardons do not alter the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination unless they are accepted by the individual, and there is no legal timeframe for this acceptance, the professor explained.
If a pardon is accepted and the individual is summoned to testify, it is true that they cannot effectively invoke the Fifth Amendment regarding matters covered by the pardon, as there would be no risk of self-incrimination. Should they refuse to testify, they could face contempt charges; however, as demonstrated in the case of witnesses related to the January 6th incident, this process can be complex and challenging to enforce, although I believe Pam Bondi would not hesitate to pursue prosecution, she remarked.
Last week, President Donald Trump ended the taxpayer-funded security detail for Fauci.
As the principal health official and public representative during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci…
