Subpoena issued as US health official refuses voluntary congressional testimony

Former director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, will face a subpoena to testify publicly in July, a lawmaker said.

According to a social media post from Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Fauci has been issued a subpoena to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The development comes as Fauci said he would not voluntarily testify after previously agreeing to do so, Paul said.

“Today, I have issued a subpoena requiring him to testify before the Committee, in public, next month,” Paul said in the post.

Fauci received sharp criticism for his role in the COVID-19 pandemic, including from Paul himself, who wrote a book called “Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up.” In it, Paul argued that Fauci was part of said cover-up, which purports that he knew early in the pandemic that the virus was linked to Wuhan and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Paul and Fauci have previously sparred over the pandemic, including its origin and vaccination policies. The senator accused Fauci of making contradictory statements about the virus’ origin, both publicly and privately, which he contended amounted to lying to Congress.

Paul alleged that Fauci approved the research in question and misled Congress regarding its nature. He also accused the administration of former President Joe Biden of attempting to protect Fauci through a presidential pardon.

“Biden tried to protect him by issuing a last-minute pardon. That is the very definition of a cover-up,” Paul said.

US President Donald Trump later shared a post on his Truth Social platform, alleging that the Biden administration buried whistleblower complaint alleging Fauci lied to Congress during pandemic.

By Vafa Guliyeva