The pardon from former President Joe Biden was supposed to close the file on Dr. Anthony Fauci. It has not. Lawyers for the retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director have opened the Anthony S. Fauci M.D. Legal Defense Fund as Florida, Louisiana, and West Virginia press their own investigations forward, and a Senate committee has already voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress.
The case for the fund is measurable. During a high-profile July congressional hearing on COVID-19 origins, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, voted to hold him in contempt after that testimony. Paul has separately called on the Department of Justice to prosecute Fauci. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier went further, issuing a subpoena to the 85-year-old and saying he intends to investigate whether Fauci "personally profited off the COVID 'guidance' he issued" during the pandemic. Louisiana and West Virginia are backing Florida's effort.
The pressure tightened Tuesday when David Morens, a former Fauci advisor, pleaded guilty to attempting to conceal pandemic-related documents by evading public records laws. Fauci retired in 2022 after nearly four decades at the helm of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and was the highest-paid federal employee at the time, earning nearly $500,000 annually, according to Fox News Digital.
The counterargument
The Biden pardon is real and it provides a federal floor. David Schertler, a lawyer for Fauci, told Reuters that his client faces "an unprecedented legal barrage for a retired civil servant" and called the actions "unfounded and frivolous." Fauci has denied all accusations. Schertler added that any funds remaining after all investigations conclude will be donated to charity.
On balance, the pardon limits federal exposure but leaves state attorneys general free to pursue their own inquiries. That is exactly what Florida, Louisiana, and West Virginia are doing. The line to watch is whether those state proceedings surface evidence of personal financial gain. Fauci and his wife reported a combined $12.6 million net worth in 2021, and OpenTheBooks CEO Adam Andrzejewski has estimated his federal pension rivals a presidential salary.