Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former White House COVID-19 czar, has been subpoenaed by attorneys general from Florida, West Virginia, and Louisiana. The officials are investigating whether Fauci promulgated health guidance during the pandemic for personal profit.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey, and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill have requested records from Fauci generated between January 2020 and August of the current year. Uthmeier stated that while government officials possess a level of immunity in their official capacities, personal profit derived from issued guidance could constitute a violation of Florida law.
Uthmeier also claimed that Fauci's focus was on self-promotion, including pursuing book deals, awards, and public recognition, while Floridians were allegedly deceived and harmed by his misrepresentations. These claims follow the release of Fauci's personal diaries, spanning from 2019 to 2022, which were preserved on government computers at the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the notes, some early diary entries show Fauci disputing the theory of SARS-CoV-2 originating in a Wuhan wet market, despite publicly advocating for natural spillover and denouncing the "lab leak theory."
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill asserted that "Fauci lied — we just don’t know yet how much. But he lied about something as basic as keeping a diary." The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) reportedly documented his own growing notoriety during the pandemic and inquired with colleagues about potential awards.
Among these were discussions about the nearly $1 million Dan David Prize, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, for his pandemic leadership. Emails released by Sen. Rand Paul indicated that Fauci had asked subordinates to apply for awards on his behalf. Fauci's personal assistant, Patricia Conrad, reportedly celebrated his receipt of the Dan David Prize in April 2021, with his chief of staff, Greg Folkers, joking about a 15% cut. Fauci acknowledged receipt of the funds a month later.
Uthmeier mentioned that other potential avenues of investigation include awards, professorship offers, book deals, board positions, private foundation partnerships, and other professional and financial opportunities that coincided with Fauci's federal role and public recommendations impacting Florida. The Florida AG's subpoena also seeks documents and communications concerning vaccine efficacy, boosters, natural immunity, potential adverse events such as myocarditis risks, messaging strategies, and interactions with vaccine manufacturers.
Separately, the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt for refusing to answer questions regarding prize money, COVID-19 lockdowns, U.S. funding for gain-of-function research, and the pandemic's origins. The committee chairman is seeking to have the contempt resolution certified by Vice President JD Vance, bypassing a full Senate vote, and forwarding the request for prosecution to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Fauci had previously been pardoned by former President Joe Biden for any potential federal crimes committed between January 2014 and January 2025. During a Senate hearing, Republican senators argued that Fauci could not invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination due to the pardon and because he had made an opening statement before refusing to answer questions. Fauci, in his opening statement, characterized Senator Paul's actions as an "obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution."