The Florida Republican urged officials in four states to pursue possible charges or civil action against Anthony Fauci after he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a congressional hearing, while Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced an investigation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called on state attorneys general and governors Wednesday to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci after he declined to answer questions about the federal government’s COVID-19 response during subpoenaed testimony before the Senate.
Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. His refusal to respond prompted sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers, who argued that former President Joe Biden’s preemptive federal pardon should have removed his basis for declining to testify about conduct covered by the pardon.
Luna said the federal pardon would not prevent states from examining whether Fauci could face prosecution under state law or be subject to civil litigation. In a statement posted on X, she invoked the name of Nazi physician Josef Mengele while condemning Fauci’s role in pandemic policy.
“Dr. ‘Mengele’ Fauci may be protected by a federal pardon but that does not hold against state prosecution and civil lawsuits,” Luna wrote.
She specifically called on officials in Florida, Texas, West Virginia and Arkansas to examine Fauci’s involvement in COVID-19 vaccine policy and its effects on children.
“I am calling on the great Attorneys General and Governors of FL, TX, WV, and AR to bring charges against Fauci for crimes against children in exposing them to a vaccine that has now been PROVEN to hurt people,” Luna wrote. “He is and will go down in history as one of the darkest souls who has ever been in federal government.”
“There is NO JUSTICE unless he is held responsible for the crimes HE committed against HUMANITY,” she added.
Luna’s statements represent allegations and political conclusions rather than findings by a court. Fauci has not been convicted of crimes related to the pandemic response, vaccine policy or research funding, and invoking the Fifth Amendment does not by itself establish guilt.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier responded later Wednesday by announcing that his office had opened an investigation into Fauci, according to a separate social media post. No details were provided about the investigation’s legal scope, the statutes under examination or whether any charges were being considered.
The dispute follows years of congressional scrutiny surrounding Fauci’s leadership during the pandemic. As NIAID director and a prominent federal health adviser, he played a central public role in recommendations involving business and school closures, masking, social distancing and COVID-19 vaccination.
Critics contend that those policies caused extensive economic, educational and social harm and that vaccine requirements exposed some recipients, including children, to serious adverse effects. They have also accused Fauci and other federal officials of withholding information about National Institutes of Health-supported research connected to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and of minimizing the possibility that COVID-19 originated through a laboratory-related incident.
Fauci has previously defended the public health response and disputed accusations that he lied about federally supported research or concealed evidence concerning the origins of the virus.
The renewed scrutiny intensified after Paul released more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s pandemic-era notes. The documents, described as Fauci’s diary, have prompted lawmakers to compare his private observations and communications with statements he made publicly during the pandemic.
The records also reportedly contain entries concerning controversy over NIAID-supported animal experiments involving beagles. According to the submitted account, Fauci discussed seeking assistance from former President Barack Obama with public relations after Donald Trump Jr. and others publicized research in which puppies were subjected to experiments and killed.
Republican lawmakers have used the notes to demand additional testimony concerning the origins of COVID-19, gain-of-function research, federal grantmaking, vaccine policy and the handling of government records. Fauci’s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment throughout Wednesday’s hearing prevented senators from obtaining answers on those subjects.
Paul has separately announced that the committee will vote on a resolution holding Fauci in contempt of Congress. He argues that Biden’s pardon protects Fauci from federal prosecution for conduct occurring through Jan. 19, 2025, and therefore makes his continued assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege legally questionable.
Whether a federal pardon eliminates every possible basis for invoking the Fifth Amendment may depend on the breadth of the pardon and whether truthful testimony could expose the witness to state prosecution, civil liability or prosecution for conduct occurring after the pardon’s effective date. Luna’s appeal to state officials centers on that distinction, since a presidential pardon applies only to federal offenses and cannot erase liability under state law.
Uthmeier’s announcement marked the first publicly reported response from one of the state officials Luna urged to act. The investigation’s outcome will depend on whether Florida authorities identify conduct falling within their jurisdiction and supported by evidence sufficient to pursue civil or criminal proceedings.
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