Louisiana joins investigation into Fauci following Senate testimony

Straight Arrow / By

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Louisiana has joined Florida and Alabama in opening state-level inquiries into Dr. Anthony Fauci after he refused to answer questions at a Senate hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Saturday that her office would join the attorneys general of Florida and Alabama in reviewing Fauci’s actions and whether any alleged offenses could be pursued under state law.

The announcement followed a Senate hearing in which Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination while facing questions from Republican lawmakers about the federal government’s pandemic response, COVID-19 origins and his prior statements to Congress.

“Fauci lied,” Murrill wrote on X. She said Louisiana and Missouri previously deposed Fauci and that he claimed at the time not to recall key details of his actions. Murrill said officials are now discovering contemporaneous records he kept.

“Louisiana will join Alabama and Florida in investigating Fauci and whether he committed any other offenses that could be pursued in our state courts,” Murrill wrote.

Gov. Jeff Landry, who was Louisiana attorney general when Fauci was deposed in litigation brought by Louisiana and Missouri, praised the move. “As someone who was attorney general alongside Eric Schmitt, and deposed Dr. Fauci, I am happy to have Louisiana join Alabama and Florida,” Landry wrote.

Straight Arrow reached out to Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway inquiring about future investigations of Fauci out of Missouri.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Wednesday that his office was launching an investigation after Fauci’s Senate testimony.

“Fauci’s lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable,” Uthmeier wrote. “It’s past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID.”

In Alabama, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee for governor, said in an interview with Newsmax that he would seek to determine whether Fauci could be brought before a court in the state if Tuberville becomes governor. Tuberville accused Fauci of responsibility for deaths during the pandemic, a claim Fauci has long rejected in broader disputes over pandemic policy.

The state inquiries follow years of political conflict over Fauci’s role as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and as a chief medical adviser during the pandemic. Republicans have accused him of misleading Congress and the public about federal funding for virus research and the origins of COVID-19. Democrats have defended Fauci and accused Republicans of conducting a politically motivated campaign against a public health official.

At the Senate hearing, Fauci declined to answer lawmakers’ questions, citing the Fifth Amendment. He said in an opening statement that invoking the constitutional protection pained him after decades of congressional testimony and public service, but that he was acting on the advice of counsel.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been among Fauci’s most persistent critics, released more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s personal diaries and work records before the hearing. Fauci accused Paul of trying to embarrass and intimidate him. Paul has said the documents raise questions about Fauci’s public statements and previous testimony.

Fauci received a federal pardon from former President Joe Biden, but state officials and legal commentators have said a presidential pardon does not bar state prosecutions.

Straight Arrow reached out to Fauci’s attorney and is awaiting comment.

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