The former COVID czar, who led the nation through controversial responses such as masking, an emergency use vaccine, business shutdowns and social distancing, received a pardon from President Joe Biden on his way out of the White House.
That pardon protects Fauci from federal charges, not state charges.
Now 17 state attorneys general, primarily from Republican-led states, have requested information from congressional leadership to investigate and possibly charge Fauci for crimes committed in their states.
The Daily Caller obtained a copy of the letter. The letter, addressed to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, asks that the states be “included in any actions taken,” should the House or Senate find evidence that suggests there may have been a violation of state laws.
Fauci’s pardon was a preemptive move by Biden since the doctor has not been charged with any crimes.
The name of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson is the first to appear among the signatures on the letter.
"I want the American people to know, and the people of South Carolina to know, that while Biden might be trying to cover up what might be alleged violations of law, that if there is a legal recourse for the states to seek, then we're prepared to seek that recourse with the resources available to us,” Wilson said on American Family Radio Thursday.
He’s joined by AGs from Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah, Indiana, South Dakota, Arkansas, Montana, Missouri, Kansas, West Virginia and Nebraska.
AGs from Florida, Texas and Louisiana floated the idea of investigating Fauci last December, well before he was pardoned by Biden.
Lots of work done in U.S. House
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has already identified several key areas in which Fauci and others engaged in potential wrongdoing or misconduct, the letter states. Three of those include informing the public about the origins of COVID-19; a lapse of oversight in the awarding of grants by the National Institutes of Health; and public health policy decisions.
The subcommittee report indicates that Fauci may have misled the public on COVID-19’s origins by promoting the “Proximal Origin” theory in an effort to disprove a “lab leak” theory, the letter states.
Among the members of Congress, Sen. Rand Paul has been the most articulate about tying Fauci to gain-of-function research that many believe led to China exposing the COVID-19 virus to the world.
"What we're alleging," Sen. Paul told Fauci in one fiery exchange, "is gain-of-function research was going on in that lab, and NIH funded it."
Decisions during the management of the pandemic “have contributed to a profound erosion of public trust in health institutions,” the letter states.
Wilson told show host Jenna Ellis that the state AGs now offer a “collaborative partnership” to the federal government.
While lawmakers have focused on potential federal violations, Wilson says states may have “concurrent jurisdiction” in some of those laws.
If such a situation exists, “states are willing to evaluate that course of action, pursue it, and investigate, sue or prosecute to the fullest extent allowed by our state laws,” he said.
The state AGs, some in Congress, and Dr. Jay Battacharya, the incoming leader of the NIH, have expressed interest in learning more about the lapses in oversight that allowed gain-of-function research to be conducted in Wuhan at an inadequate safety level and whether it contributed to the pandemic, The Daily Caller reported.
Some information pertinent to an investigation is public record, but the states can’t compel the federal government to share information that isn’t.
For now, the states have to hope that someone at the federal level has an interest in pursuing the matter.
“There are things that Congress and the administration can get that are more readily available to them because these are federal bureaucracies, and they have oversight authority and responsibility. They’re going to be able to get a hold of final reports and other documentation and evidence as they review the last 10 to 12 years of all the things that went on with the NIH and other organizations,” Wilson said.
Wilson wants Congress to know the states are willing to help in the research and other leg work.
Know what was pardoned
Potential criminal charges come to mind first, but if there are no criminal charges then civil charges could also be pursued.
“Any and all possibilities are on the table,” Wilson said.
The states would have to evaluate that individually.
Wilson hopes that, at the very least, Congress will continue to investigate Fauci “so that at a minimum the public can at least see what Biden was pardoning.”
