Dr. Anthony Fauci was subpoenaed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to appear before the Senate for a grilling on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic next month.
Paul accused Fauci of dodging a previous commitment to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, saying he’d now subpoena him to force his appearance in July.
“We’ve been negotiating with him for material and for testimony. This has gone on for some time,” Paul told CNBC. “He slow-walked us.”
Paul also vowed to examine the pardon Fauci was given by then-President Joe Biden before the Democrat left office.
“There will be questions about did he seek the pardon, what specific crimes did he seek, did he ever meet with President Biden,” Paul said, “but there are also questions about can you have a pardon for a nonspecific crime, can you have a vague pardon.”
Paul said he expected Fauci to challenge the subpoena in court. “I think it’s going to be a challenge to get him. I think we will have to fight him in court,” he noted but said the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases needs to testify.
Questions about Fauci’s role in the COVID pandemic resurfaced after outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a trove of files that showed that officials protected him from a whistleblower complaint alleging he lied to Congress about “gain of function” research.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
