Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill stated that the state will initiate an investigation into former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci. Fauci, who led the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, recently invoked the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to refuse to testify in front of the Senate in response to lawmakers’ questions.
Murrill announced on social media platform X last Saturday, “Louisiana and Missouri previously took sworn testimony from Dr. Fauci.”
“At that time, he claimed to not remember many key details of his actions, and now we have discovered the records he left behind,” she added, “Louisiana will join Alabama and Florida in investigating Fauci and whether he has committed other illegal acts that can be prosecuted in our state courts.”
Over the years, Fauci has faced scrutiny regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of the U.S. government in implementing lockdown measures during the crisis. Some members of Congress, particularly Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, have been trying to hold him accountable.
During a hearing last Wednesday at the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Fauci refused to provide testimony on his role in the U.S. government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic by invoking the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
Fauci received a presidential pardon before former President Biden left office, which can protect him from federal prosecution, but does not shield him from state-level investigations.
After the conclusion of last week’s hearing, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced later that day that he was beginning an investigation into Fauci, stating, “Fauci’s lack of candor with Congress is unbelievable… we should have long ago figured out what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Following Murrill’s announcement of the investigation into Fauci, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also took to social media to express his support. As the former Attorney General of Louisiana who, in 2022, worked with Missouri’s then-Attorney General and current U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt in taking sworn testimony from Fauci, Landry backed Murrill’s decision to investigate Fauci.
In his post, Landry wrote, “As someone who has served as the state’s Attorney General alongside Eric Schmitt and took sworn testimony from Dr. Fauci, I am pleased to see Louisiana joining Alabama and Florida in this effort!”