Walls Close In On Fauci As Evidence Mounts Against Him

The examination takes on heightened significance in light of criminal charges against David Morens, Fauci’s former deputy, who awaits trial on allegations of concealing and destroying government records. Morens faces up to 51 years in prison if convicted on charges that suggest he acted on behalf of his superior. His arraignment in May drew minimal media attention despite the gravity of the case.

Paul’s investigation follows his recent criminal referral to the Department of Justice after Fauci invoked Fifth Amendment protections 111 times during Senate committee testimony, according to Miranda Devine writing in New York Post. The former COVID response coordinator refused to answer questions about his role in funding gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan laboratory.

Should investigators establish that Fauci concealed or destroyed official records, he could face prosecution alongside Morens, though the extent to which his presidential pardon offers protection remains unclear.

Pattern of Deletion Requests

Evidence already compiled by Paul’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reveals Fauci explicitly instructed colleagues to delete correspondence on at least two occasions.

In February 2020, during the early pandemic period, Fauci wrote to his supervisor Dr. Francis Collins, then director of the National Institutes of Health, regarding World Health Organization handling of COVID origin questions, requesting: Please delete this email after you read it.

Five months later, in July 2020, Fauci sent a message to his chief of staff Greg Folkers disputing Paul’s assessment that Florida managed COVID more effectively than New York, using profane language to describe the senator before again instructing deletion of the communication.

In sworn congressional testimony delivered in 2024, Fauci denied ever deleting official records and has consistently distanced himself from Morens, claiming no knowledge of what Morens described in emails as a secret communication channel to his boss.

Biden Pardon Covers Critical Period

The presidential pardon granted by Joe Biden shields Fauci from prosecution for any offenses committed during a seven-year window spanning January 1, 2014, through the end of Biden’s presidency in January 2025. The pardon specifically relates to Fauci’s service as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, his membership on the White House COVID-19 task force, and his position as chief medical adviser to the president.

The pardon’s unusual start date — six years before the pandemic began — suggests potential legal exposure connected to the period when Fauci authorized funding for dangerous gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the facility widely suspected as the source of the laboratory leak that triggered the global health catastrophe.

Obama-Era Safety Measures Sidestepped

Significantly, Fauci’s pardon encompasses the October 17, 2014 moratorium imposed by the Obama administration on gain-of-function funding. That safety measure, driven by scientists concerned about pandemic risk from laboratory accidents, aimed to prevent experiments that could enhance viral potency and human transmissibility.

The pardon also covers a June 2014 grant Fauci awarded to EcoHealth Alliance, which redirected controversial research to the Wuhan laboratory despite its substandard biosecurity protocols that elevated accident risk.

While Fauci and Collins have categorically denied funding the Wuhan research, documentation establishes the funding pathway through EcoHealth as intermediary, as well as close relationships between Fauci, Morens, and EcoHealth president Peter Daszak. Charges against Morens include allegations he accepted wine from an unnamed co-conspirator reported to be Daszak.

Paul has accused Fauci of semantic manipulation regarding the definition of gain-of-function research and argued the former health bureaucrat bears responsibility for deaths numbering between 10 and 20 million people during the pandemic.

State Investigations Proceed

Even if the presidential pardon withstands legal challenge, multiple Republican state attorneys general — including those in Florida and Louisiana — launched investigations into the 85-year-old Fauci following his Senate testimony and release of his diary, examining potential state-level offenses such as self-dealing.

The government-issued phone under Paul’s examination was discovered in June by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to FBI Director Kash Patel, who described it as a significant breakthrough. Kennedy reportedly spent approximately eight months searching through 11 separate government servers where materials had been stored.

With information from New York Post