In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Senator Rand Paul dishes on the latest in his investigation into the man who led America’s COVID-19 response, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The Kentucky senator, who has grilled Fauci about the pandemic since 2021, tells the Daily Mail he is preparing to subpoena Fauci as part of an expanded Senate investigation into the origins of Covid-19 and US-funded research in Wuhan, China.
The goal: scrutinize Fauci’s role in approving controversial virus experiments.
Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, recently issued subpoenas to 14 federal agencies for records related to Covid-19’s origins and gain-of-function research, building on years of questioning Fauci and other officials about US oversight of high-risk biological research.
‘After we’ve gotten a fuller understanding [of] how the decision was made, we are going to ask him to come in, and, if need be, subpoena him to come in to discuss why he made the decision to fund the research in Wuhan,’ Paul told the Daily Mail of his plans.
However, Paul’s chances in compelling Fauci to testify remain uncertain.
Fauci was granted a preemptive pardon by former President Joe Biden, which could shield him from some consequences related to the pandemic. Paul also said that he hasn’t yet been given access to the names of people who were part of the process determining the Wuhan research, but is continuing to seek interviews.
‘We’re looking at their communications and ultimately the decisions of this committee, we believe, had to be certified by Anthony Fauci himself,’ Paul said.
US Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to reporters, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2025
Dr. Anthony Fauci, pictured during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Nov. 4, 2021, in Washington, DC
The subpoenas, issued in January, target agencies including the NIH, CIA, Department of Energy and others, reflecting a broader Republican push to investigate the ‘lab leak’ theory and the federal government’s pandemic response.
Fauci and NIH officials have repeatedly denied that the Wuhan research met the criteria for gain-of-function or that it could have sparked the pandemic, but Paul insists more answers are needed.
Dr. Fauci did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
‘The goal of the investigation will be to critique the process that allowed this dangerous research that may have led to the pandemic,’ Paul said back in January.
Biden’s Autopen Pardon
‘Fauci is in a bad spot,’ a lawyer at the Oversight Project – an nonprofit watchdog previously a part of the conservative Heritage Foundation – told the Daily Mail.
Even carrying a Biden pardon, Dr. Fauci could still face tough questioning if he chooses to comply with the Senate subpoena.
The Oversight Project’s legal team explained that if the pardon is found invalid, the Justice Department could revive old perjury referrals. If the pardon is deemed valid, Dr. Fauci would be unable to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination about his conduct, the lawyer claim’s.
‘Dr. Fauci, you accepted this pardon. You’re claiming your pardon for these crimes,’ the lawyer said, rhetorically, to the Daily Mail. ‘What crimes were you pardoned for?’
Legal experts note that enforcing a congressional subpoena can be difficult, and may be dependent on whether the Justice Department wants to pursue contempt charges. Dr. Fauci also holds the option of challenging the subpoena in court, potentially further delaying any testimony.
Theo Wold, an Oversight Project board member and fellow at the Heritage Foundation, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that dozens of controversial clemency warrants – including Dr. Fauci’s – were signed using an autopen, not by President Biden himself. Wold argued that this procedural irregularity could undermine the validity of the pardons.
‘In addition, we found that the Biden White House used the autopen to affix President Biden’s signature to clemency warrants and executive orders while the President himself was in Washington, DC, for at least some of that day, and thus was presumably available to sign important executive actions,’ Wold added.
Many legal scholars say the US Constitution does not require a presidential pardon to be signed by hand, and judicial precedent supports the use of autopen for official documents, including pardons.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 3, 2024 in Washington, DC
Kash snags Fauci’s phones
Dr. Fauci told Politico in January that in accepting Biden’s pardon, he had committed no crime and that there were no credible grounds for any criminal investigation of him.
But Trump administration officials continue to probe the besieged doctor, who has attempted to slink out of the limelight in Trump’s second term.
FBI Director Kash Patel revealed on June 6 that the agency has located Fauci’s phones and computers from the early pandemic period – but the data on them might be deleted, tossing up another hurdle in Republicans’ long pursuit of the doctor.
The last congressional hearing on Fauci was June 2024, which Democrats argued produced no new evidence.
While Fauci claimed the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, Republicans claimed his explanation as ‘misleading.’
With control of all three branches of government, Republicans appear to control their own destiny on luring Dr. Fauci before Congress once again.
Paul says the goal is to ensure sufficient oversight so ‘a mistake of this magnitude never happens again.’
But the final decision on issuing a subpoena remains up in the air, with Paul urging the public to stay tuned and patient.
