Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, placing him in the crosshairs of what will undoubtedly be an aggressive line of questioning by the committee's chairman, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. 

The grilling of the 85-year-old physician will likely center around gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, grants to EcoHealth Alliance and Fauci's earlier public statements on the COVID-19 pandemic.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Gain-of-function, loss of truth

Paul and others have long accused Fauci of misleading Congress under oath in May 2021 when he testified that the NIH (National Institutes of Health) “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” 

The allegation centers on NIH grants to EcoHealth Alliance that supported experiments at the Wuhan lab involving bat coronaviruses modified to better infect human cells.

Defending their argument with syntax, Fauci and NIH officials have maintained that the work did not meet the agency’s strict regulatory definition of gain-of-function research involving enhanced potential pandemic pathogens requiring special review. 

 Later testimony in May 2024 from then-Acting NIH Director Lawrence Tabak acknowledged that under a broader, generic definition, the agency had indeed funded such research at the Wuhan lab via EcoHealth Alliance, while insisting it fell outside the narrower regulated definition. 

The testimony was conveniently timed alongside the NIH scrubbing that same broad definition from its website amid the controversy over Fauci’s earlier denials.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

From full pardon to full panic

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.  

Paul spoke to Just The News in June about the pardon and warned, "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."

Furthermore, 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, contending that only a judicial ruling can determine whether the clemency holds and that new testimony or evidence falling outside its scope could still leave Fauci exposed.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

No Fifth Amendment privilege because of pardon

Former federal prosecutor Jim Trusty revealed what's at stake in Fauci's testimony. He told Newsmax that "The biggest danger for him 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."

Trusty added, “I’m not a huge fan of the substitute of perjury traps for substantive investigations. But […] it’ll be interesting to see guys like Fauci, who have no Fifth Amendment privilege, having to endure some serious questioning.”

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. 

Amanda Head is White House Correspondent for Just The News. You can follow her here.