A coalition of Republican attorneys general are seeking to bypass President Joe Biden’s last-minute preemptive pardon of Dr. Anthony Fauci to investigate him on a state level for his role in the COVID-19 pandemic response.
The attorneys general, led by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Wednesday asking to be kept in the loop about “any further findings or direct evidence that suggests there may have been any violation of state laws” so that “we may evaluate state-level courses of action.”
“Certainly, one potential tool at our disposal is the referral of any pertinent findings to state officials. As you are aware, a pardon by former President Biden does not extend to preclude state-level investigations or legal proceedings,” they wrote. “As state Attorneys General, we possess the authority to address violations of state law or breaches of public trust. We are fully committed to investigating any malfeasance that may have occurred to the fullest extent of our authority and are prepared to collaborate with you in further efforts.”
The attorneys general specifically referenced a report released by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in December 2024, which details widespread failures and potential misconduct by high-ranking government officials, including Fauci. Some of the report’s findings include:
- Evidence suggesting Fauci worked to discredit the “lab leak” theory, despite evidence supporting it.
- Accusations that Fauci allegedly provided false testimony to Congress about the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
- Evidence NIH allegedly mismanaged taxpayer funds by failing to properly oversee grants to EcoHealth Alliance, which funneled funding to the Wuhan lab.
- Evidence that prominent scientists who raised concerns about vaccine risks were allegedly silenced, ultimately limiting debate and public awareness.
Despite the report’s findings, Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci with just hours left in his administration, effective from January 2014 to the day of the pardon, and lauded Fauci for “sav[ing] countless lives by managing the government’s response to pressing health crises, including HIV/AIDS, as well as the Ebola and Zika viruses.”
“During his tenure as my Chief Medical Advisor, he helped the country tackle a once-in-a-century pandemic. The United States is safer and healthier because of him,” Biden said.
The attorneys general noted that pardon “purports to apply to any offenses arising from his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House COVID-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.”
“To say we are troubled by the scope and timing of the pardon—on the heels of the Subcommittee’s Final Report—would be a gross understatement. To ensure that former President Biden’s shameful pardon does not frustrate accountability, we urge Congress to consider using all available tools at its disposal,” they wrote.