Florida Hints at Legal Action Against Fauci for Pandemic Response
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined calls for states to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci for his role in the COVID-19 pandemic. Calls to investigate Fauci at the state level have gained momentum recently.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined growing calls for states to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci for his role in the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting during a recent speech that the state’s new attorney general could pursue such an investigation, the Florida Bulldog reported.
Speaking at the Yale Federalist Society earlier this month, DeSantis — a longtime critic of Fauci — said the “preemptive” pardon former President Joe Biden granted Fauci last month protects him from federal prosecution — but not state prosecution.
DeSantis’ comments came as 17 state attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders earlier this month, inviting Congress to share with state investigators evidence that might implicate Fauci.
“While Biden’s preemptive pardon is likely to shield Fauci from federal prosecution, it does not preclude state prosecution,” said attorney Greg Glaser.
“Under the legal principle of dual sovereignty, each state retains the authority to pursue its own investigations and prosecutions for violations of its own state law. This is supported, for example, by the Tenth Amendment, which reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states,” Glaser said.
DeSantis said it’s “very possible” new Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, would seek to prosecute Fauci, whom he called the “chief henchman” of the U.S. pandemic response, according to the Florida Bulldog.
“I think he’s of the mindset to look at this, to see what the jurisdictional hooks are, to see what if any statutes would have been violated,” DeSantis said. Biden’s pardon “may end up boomeranging against Fauci.”
“Biden intended to shield him from accountability and it may have actually sparked state-based efforts to ensure his accountability,” DeSantis said, noting that “some other states would also do it.”
“It is only a matter of time before a state attorney general or a group of state attorney generals indict Fauci,” said psychotherapist Joseph Sansone, Ph.D., author of the “Ban the Jab” resolution adopted by 10 Florida counties.
State AGs urge Congress to use ‘all available tools’ to investigate Fauci
DeSantis’ call comes as a growing number of state attorneys general have said they will pursue an investigation against Fauci, Politico reported.
In their letter, the attorneys general told Congress:
“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.
“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. As state Attorneys General, we possess the authority to address violations of state law or breaches of public trust.”
The letter referenced the final report of the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, released in December 2024. According to the letter, the report “delineated several key areas where Dr. Fauci and others engaged in potential wrongdoing or misconduct.”
These areas included a possible cover-up of COVID-19’s origins, failures in the oversight of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants that funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, and Fauci’s pandemic policies, which “contributed to a profound erosion of public trust in health institutions.”
The “lab-leak theory” of COVID-19’s origin suggests that the virus escaped from the Wuhan laboratory.
According to the letter, Fauci also suppressed key information about the potential health risks and adverse events of the COVID-19 vaccines. It stated:
“Dr. Fauci led a deliberate campaign to stifle the voices of premier health scholars regarding the lack of adequate testing of vaccines.
“This subsequently siloed crucial information from the public that may have led to more public awareness concerning the risks of myocarditis and pericarditis among young adult males; the verified increased risk of blood clots in women; and the long-term effects vaccines had on fertility.”
The letter also urged Congress to continue investigating Fauci. According to legal experts, Congress may continue such investigations despite Biden’s pardon and retains the authority to subpoena Fauci.
Legal experts also suggested that by accepting Biden’s pardon, Fauci relinquished his Fifth Amendment right to refuse to provide testimony that might incriminate him.
Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia signed the letter. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson initiated the letter.
“President Biden’s blanket pardon of Dr. Fauci is a shameful attempt to prevent accountability,” Wilson said in a press release earlier this month. “If any of these findings indicate violations of state laws, we are fully prepared to take appropriate action to ensure justice is served.”
The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health, also received the letter.
Pardon ‘may ultimately prove a blessing in disguise’
In an interview with Politico last month, Fauci said he had “committed no crime” and that threats of investigation or prosecution “create immeasurable and intolerable distress” for him and his family.
But for Glaser, the pardon “may ultimately prove a blessing in disguise” as it “encourages boldness among states at a time when boldness is demanded by the public.”
Glaser said Florida is “well positioned to prove that Fauci was engaged in criminal racketeering,” in connection to his prioritization of funding and approval for COVID-19 vaccines and promotion of remdesivir, a controversial COVID-19 treatment, under Florida Statues Section 895.02.
The statutes codify “an expansive list of criminal racketeering examples such as engaging in a pattern of fraud, battery, and/or homicide.”
Attorney Rick Jaffe said Fauci’s role in “dismissing off-label drugs” such as ivermectin could be another possible route of investigation at the state level, as it was “the necessary predicate for the COVID shots’ emergency use authorization.”
“The more investigations, the better, and the more likely the public will get an honest and complete assessment of what went wrong,” Jaffe said.
Last month, a Florida grand jury investigating “any and all wrongdoing” related to COVID-19 vaccines found “profound and serious” issues with vaccine development and safety in the U.S. and “a pattern of deceptive and obfuscatory behavior” by regulators “that often straddled the line between ethical and unethical conduct.”
The grand jury “did not find criminal activity,” but Fauci’s name did not appear in its report.
Jaffe said the outcomes of grand jury investigations can be overturned, as “new facts and new theories could lead to a different result.”
Initiatives targeting Fauci, mRNA products gain momentum at the state level
Calls to investigate Fauci at the state level have gained momentum in the past year.
Idaho lawmakers proposed House Concurrent Resolution No. 5, stating that “the opinion of the Idaho Legislature that Dr. Anthony Fauci’s federal pardon does not confer immunity from prosecution or responsibility for state crimes.” The resolution was reported out of committee on Feb. 12 with a “Do Pass Recommendation.”
Last year, a group of lawyers in Louisiana submitted criminal referral requests against Fauci and other public health officials to state district attorneys. According to epidemiologist Nicolas Hulscher, “These requests accused them of committing crimes under the Louisiana criminal code.”
Charges mentioned in the referral requests include first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter, cruelty to persons with infirmities, false imprisonment, battery and terrorism by causing intentional killing or infliction of serious bodily injury.
Idaho and other states are also pursuing legislative initiatives to ban mRNA vaccines or enact a moratorium on them.
Idaho nurse Laura Demaray and a group of state residents met with the state attorney general to discuss the risks of mRNA products and the possibility of investigating Fauci.
“Idaho is a rare state in which there can be prosecution and potential grand jury to address Fauci and his crimes,” Demaray said.
Sansone said state attorneys general and lawmakers should target both Fauci and mRNA products.
“State attorneys general may go after Fauci for mandates, lying, and so on, yet they refuse to enforce their state’s bioweapons and weapons of mass destruction laws and prohibit mRNA. They want to keep the discussion about mandates,” Sansone said.
Related articles in The Defender
Biden Grants Fauci a ‘Preemptive Pardon.’ Could He Still Face Legal Challenges?
7 Takeaways From 520-page House Report on COVID Pandemic and Government Response
Fauci Knew ‘in Extraordinary Detail’ About NIH Ties to Coronavirus Research at Wuhan Lab
Kentucky, Montana, Idaho Among States Looking to Ban mRNA Vaccines
Hinting? Get it over with and go for the jugular. This murdering bum deserves no less.
Amidst all of the issues surrounding Dr. Fauci, NIH, USAID, and Pharma; he right of patient's decision autonomy is often passed over. Key to the practice of medicine is the patient right to accept or refuse a therapeutic intervention. Physicians, nurses and institutions should accept the patient's decision without injecting their bias. In my clinical research and medical practice career, discussions of standard and research therapies took first with the patient and physician - Q&A - followed by a discussion by a nurse and the patient - Q&A. If the patient remained unsure regarding a therapeutic intervention, no therapy was administered and the patient sent home for further contemplation and/or an arrangement made for a second opinion if requested. Had the above paradigm been employed by NIH, Pharma, hospitals and physician offices; many of today's issues would have been alleviated. Trust is built on honesty by all parties in such delicate and personal matters. However, if dishonesty and/or bias are present or injected into this paradigm, the entire process becomes corrupted resulting in the destruction of trust.