by WorldTribune Staff, July 28, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
Anthony Fauci will testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday and is expected to be grilled on gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, grants to EcoHealth Alliance, and Fauci’s earlier public statements on the Covid pandemic.
The committee’s chair, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, has long accused Fauci of misleading Congress under oath in May 2021 when he testified that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
Joe Biden’s preemptive auto-pen pardon of Fauci does not cover new lies. The pardon only applies to federal offenses Fauci may have committed between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 20, 2025, related to Fauci’s government service.
Related: Time for Covid prosecutions and nothing less, July 27, 2025
Paul has urged the Justice Department to bring felony charges against Fauci — such as for alleged false statements to Congress — so that a court can test the pardon’s validity.
“Fauci has so far enjoyed the cover of a now-infamous “preemptive” pardon by former President Joe Biden. However, questions surrounding the circumstances of that pardon, including Biden’s cognition at the time and whether the pardon was signed via auto-pen without Biden’s knowledge, have placed that pardon in potentially precarious territory,” Amanda Head reported for Just the News on Sunday.
Paul told Just The News in June: “It’s an extraordinary pardon. It’s a pardon not for a specific crime, and it’s a pardon over a 10-year period for anything you might be accused of over that period.
“I think that could be challenged in court, because it’s not specific, it’s vague, and it doesn’t specify the crime, and it’s such a large period of time. So, I think it could be challenged, and should be challenged. I think the fact that it was signed by an auto pen could be challenged. Was President Biden of sound mind? Did he understand who he was pardoning? Did he participate in it? So, I would, I would take it to court.”
Former federal prosecutor Jim Trusty told Newsmax that the biggest danger for Fauci at this point “won’t be some sort of substantive crime. It would be false statements. He’s already given inconsistent statements over the years. So getting him to kind of rehash that could lead to some exposure.”
Head noted: “Because Biden’s pardon eliminated any realistic threat of federal prosecution for offenses covered by it (related to Fauci’s official duties from 2014–2025), he cannot validly invoke the Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination on those matters under longstanding precedent such as Brown v. Walker.”
The hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and comes after Paul issued a subpoena for Fauci’s appearance.
