U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall is pressing the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s role in federal coronavirus research, the government’s assessment of COVID-19’s origins and the handling of congressional oversight.
Marshall sent the request to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, arguing that an outside prosecutor should examine whether Fauci influenced intelligence findings while his former agency faced scrutiny over taxpayer-funded research tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The Kansas Republican asked investigators to examine Fauci’s involvement in COVID-19 origins discussions, federal funding for risky coronavirus experiments and possible obstruction of Congress. He also wants the special counsel to determine whether Fauci gave lawmakers false or misleading testimony.
“There’s still this cover-up that has never been uncovered,” Marshall said.
The call follows the release of declassified records by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which alleged that Fauci influenced intelligence officials reviewing COVID-19’s origins and identified inconsistencies between his communications and his 2024 sworn testimony.
The records also included whistleblower claims that dissent over the laboratory-origin theory was suppressed, though they did not result in criminal charges or judicial findings against Fauci.
“At a minimum, there was obstruction of Congress. It’s possible he lied to Congress as well,” Marshall said.
“That’s why we need a special counsel to go in and sort all of this out, so the American people can finally know the truth and we can hold Dr. Fauci accountable once and for all.”
Marshall also asked for an investigation into the sweeping pardon former President Joe Biden issued to Fauci on Jan. 19, 2025. The order covered any federal offenses Fauci may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through the date of the pardon arising from his leadership of NIAID and his work on the federal pandemic response.
“If the pardon is valid, we must understand what conduct it covers. If the pardon was not validly authorized, it should not allow Dr. Fauci to skirt accountability,” Marshall wrote.
