Morning Note

Joe Biden’s preemptive Anthony Fauci pardon made the former NIAID director immune to federal prosecution, but there still remains a way for him to eventually wind up in a cell. The former president’s 11th-hour action does not have the authority to protect Fauci from state-level charges. Those could come soon.

According to a release from South Carolina’s top lawyer, over a dozen attorneys general signed a letter on Wednesday to “commend ongoing Congressional efforts to uncover [Fauci’s] misconduct and request state-level cooperation in pursuing any violations of state laws.”

The missive followed the release of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic’s final report. It found that Fauci worked to discredit the common-sense “lab leak” theory, may have lied to Congress about gain-of-function research, suppressed scientific dissent, and oversaw the NIH’s mismanagement of taxpayer funds.

The attorneys general asked Congress to provide them with any relevant findings that could lead to state investigations and potential prosecutions.

Read Attorney General Alan Wilson’s release here.

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