
Biden Gives Fauci a Pardon; 5th Amendment Questions Arise
In the wake of the COVID pandemic, millions of Americans were left with questions about what had actually happened. There seems to be a lot of work going into making sure that the answers people were seeking were never found.
In 2022, the state Attorneys General from Missouri and Louisiana filed suits on behalf of multiple people who had been banned or throttled on social media due to COVID content. Missouri's then Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (now Louisiana Governor) filed the First Amendment suit in the Western District of Louisiana. The initial suit was against the US Government, filed as Missouri v. Biden. It accused the US Government of collusion with social media companies to censor speech that was critical of the Biden administration, and COVID response.
While Missouri and Louisiana did pick up some wins along the way, eventually they lost in a 6-3 decision at the Supreme Court, who decided they didn't have adequate standing in the case.
One of the biggest moments in the lawsuit was the moment that Dr. Anthony Fauci was questioned during a deposition. Dr. Fauci was the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and was a lead member of President Donald Trump's White House COVID-19 Task Force. He then served as the Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden in 2021 and 2022.
Fauci became a major name in pandemic due to his role in establishing policies. Much of the country's shutdown policy for businesses and schools came from Fauci's recommendations. Many insiders also blame other questionable pandemic policies on Fauci.
One of President Biden's final moves while exiting the White House was to issue a pre-emptive, blanket pardon for Fauci. A pardon that Fauci accepted almost right away. This makes it so Fauci can't be charged with Federal crimes. But this also creates a new set of circumstances.
Because if Fauci cannot be charged with a crime, he can no longer incriminate himself. The 5th Amendment of the US Constitution protects citizens from self-incrimination, which is why you see witnesses "plead the 5th" in TV shows and movies. Because you can actually do that in real life too.
However, if you can no longer be charged with the crime, you aren't incriminating yourself. So that means someone like Fauci can now face another deposition, like the one he faced in the Missouri and Louisiana lawsuit, without 5th Amendment protection.
So it's entirely possible that Fauci could find himself at a Congressional hearing, or deposition, or anything else really.