(LifeSiteNews) — Dr. Anthony Fauci’s lawyers launched a legal defense fund as the former COVID-19 czar’s legal woes continue to mount.
After two disastrous U.S. Senate hearings and publication of his personal diary this summer, Fauci has now been subpoenaed by three Republican state attorneys general seeking to determine whether he personally profited from guidance he issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While President Joe Biden gave the COVID kahuna a blanket pardon stretching from 2014 to the final day of his presidency, that pardon protects Fauci only from federal prosecution, leaving him exposed to potential legal actions from states.
The Biden pardon would also not apply to the Contempt of Congress charge that Senate Republicans turned over to the Department of Justice earlier this month after the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director invoked the fifth amendment more than 100 times during a hearing in July.
“The Anthony S. Fauci M.D. Legal Defense Fund was established to help cover the legal representation and associated administrative costs for Dr. Fauci,” the fund’s website states. “Your contributions directly support these defense efforts and ensure comprehensive legal support during ongoing inquiries and proceedings.”
“Dr. Fauci is facing an unprecedented legal barrage for a retired civil servant, and he deserves a robust defense against these unfounded and frivolous actions,” Fauci attorney David Schertler said in a statement to Reuters. “Dr. Fauci has not done anything wrong, and we are prepared to fight back against this shameful harassment of an honorable man who dedicated his career to saving lives.”
At the time of his retirement, Fauci was the highest paid employee of the federal government, earning nearly $500,000 a year.
As of 2021, Fauci and his wife reported a net worth of $12.6 million.
LifeSiteNews previously reported that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier had teamed up with West Virginia and Louisiana to investigate “awards, professional opportunities, financial incentives, grants, and COVID-19 guidance that impacted Florida businesses and consumers.”
Uthmeier said that Fauci’s diaries “detail substantial awards” connected to the Sunshine State, including a $900,000 Dan David Foundation prize and a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) research grant to the University of Florida Scripps Biomedical Research program.
The Florida AG also cited other troubling ways Fauci may have personally profited from his handling of COVID such as “offers of named professorships and book deals, board positions, private foundation partnerships, and other professional and financial opportunities concurrent with his federal role and public recommendations impacting Florida.”
The Florida subpoena commands Fauci to provide documents related to his “self-dealing” from January 3, 2020, until the present by August 31.
“Government officials have a certain level of immunity in their official capacities, but if Fauci personally profited off of the ‘guidance’ he issued, that very well could have broken Florida law,” Uthmeier said. “Fauci’s diary focused more on self-promotion than the legitimate safety concerns from the mRNA vaccines. While Fauci was pushing for book deals, awards, and fortune and fame, Floridians were being deceived and harmed by his misrepresentations.”
“Dr. Fauci’s recent refusal to answer Congress’s questions about his actions during the pandemic is concerning,” West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey alleged. “The American people deserve to know if they or their elected leaders were misled or manipulated. Both my Office and I support Attorney General Uthmeier’s efforts to uncover the truth.”
“The public deserves answers to about a million questions related to the pandemic, its origins, and the government’s actions in response,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill asserted. “What we know already is Fauci lied — we just don’t know yet how much. But he lied about something as basic as keeping a diary. The truth will come out.”
Contributions to Fauci’s defense fund are not tax-deductible charitable donations and are non-refundable.
According to Reuters, any remaining funds donated to Fauci’s legal defense will be donated to charity.