Rand Paul to reissue criminal referral against Fauci after report of autopen pardon

Sen. Rand Paul this week vowed to refile a criminal referral against Anthony Fauci with the Justice Department after it was revealed Dr. Fauci’s pardon from former President Joseph R. Biden was issued through a late-night autopen.

“Today I will reissue my criminal referral of Anthony Fauci to Trump DOJ,” Paul posted Monday on X. “Perjury is a crime. And Fauci must be held accountable.”

The move comes after The New York Times reported that Dr. Fauci’s pardon was signed at the direction of a Biden White House assistant through the autopen.

The Biden administration has been under scrutiny for its heavy use of the device.

And Mr. Paul’s move could increase pressure on the calls to probe Mr. Biden’s competency when authorizing — and if consent was given for — the use of the autopen when issuing pardons protecting his family members and Trump foes like Dr. Fauci and California Sen. Adam Schiff, who led a probe into Mr. Trump and the debunked Russia collusion.

President Trump has requested an investigation.

Mr. Biden, meanwhile, pushed back on that in a statement to the NYT.

“I made every single one of those,” Mr. Biden said of his clemency actions. “I understand why Trump would think that, because obviously, I guess, he doesn’t focus much. Anyway, so — yes, I made every decision.”

Mr. Paul has accused Dr. Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, of committing perjury.

The Kentucky Republican first issued a criminal referral in 2021, saying Dr. Fauci lied about gain-of-function research of the virus to Congress. Mr. Paul again reissued the referral in 2023.

Dr. Fauci has maintained in previous testimony that he has never lied to Congress.

Now that there is a new Justice Department, headed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, different action could come.

A spokesperson from the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request from The Washington Times for comment on whether the referral has been received.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.