Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on July 29 that his office is launching an investigation into Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former federal health official, following his refusal to answer questions during a Senate hearing. The probe comes after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination over 100 times during questioning by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Uthmeier cited Fauci's "lack of candor to Congress" as the reason for the investigation, stating on X that it is "past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID." The Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman, Sen. Rand Paul, has scheduled a committee meeting for August 5 to determine whether Fauci should be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify.
The investigation was also prompted by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who called on Uthmeier and other state officials to take action against Fauci. Luna alleged that Fauci committed "crimes against humanity" by exposing children to COVID-19 vaccines, which she claims have been proven to harm people. Luna argued that President Joe Biden's preemptive pardon of Fauci on January 20, 2025, does not shield him from state prosecution or civil lawsuits.
Fauci's legal team, led by David Schertler, has not yet responded to the investigation. The pardon, issued by Biden, protects Fauci from federal prosecution for any offenses committed between 2014 and 2025. However, critics argue that the pardon does not preempt state-level investigations or civil actions.
Sen. Rand Paul has long sought to uncover Fauci's ties to U.S. grant funding for the Wuhan research laboratory in China, where the first COVID-19 cases were reported. Paul recently released over 1,000 pages of Fauci's personal records, including his pandemic-era diary, and documents related to the origins of the coronavirus.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has also called for Fauci to be held in contempt, arguing that the pardon removes any legal basis for invoking the Fifth Amendment over the conduct in question.