Florida Attorney General Launches Probe Into Fauci Over Covid Claims

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a state investigation into Anthony Fauci on Wednesday amid continued GOP scrutiny in Washington.

The Trump-era Covid czar pushed for pandemic safety requirements such as face mask use and social distancing that drew criticism from Republican lawmakers — particularly in Florida, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis — and prompted dozens of appearances before congressional committees, where he was accused of misleading the public.

Fauci declined to answer questions Wednesday at a contentious Senate hearing, exercising his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Uthmeier announced the launch of a state investigation into Fauci shortly afterward.

“Fauci's lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable,” Uthmeier said in a post on X. “It's past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID.”

Uthmeier has launched several investigations since he was appointed by DeSantis in February 2025, from suing health organizations over the state’s ban on transgender treatments for children to recruiting rules used by the NFL. In the case of Fauci, DeSantis wrote in a Wednesday X post the former White House adviser cannot claim the Fifth Amendment since he received a preemptive pardon by Biden, and he should be held in contempt for not answering Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s questions about U.S. funding going to a lab in a region of China where the first Covid cases were reported.

When asked by another X user about options, DeSantis said only a state attorney general or prosecutor can bring a case due to his pardon.

“It would require either a state AG or local state attorney to bring a case, which would need to establish violations of state law as well as personal jurisdiction over the defendant,” DeSantis wrote.

Paul told Fauci he will face consequences for pleading the Fifth and has scheduled an Aug. 5 committee meeting to discuss whether to declare him in contempt of Congress.

DeSantis made national headlines during the Covid pandemic for rejecting federal health safety guidelines, even making Florida the first in the country to reopen schools. He also picked former UCLA medical researcher Joseph Ladapo to be the state surgeon general in 2021, after the Harvard-trained doctor also gained his own spotlight for writing opinion pieces questioning safety measures such as face mask use and social distancing.

Uthmeier was chief of staff for DeSantis’ office during the pandemic before he was picked to replace now-Sen. Ashley Moody. Uthmeier said about a month ago that he was losing sleep over thinking of ways to prosecute Fauci.

“And when I have a case ready, I’ll bring it,” Uthmeier said at the time.