BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced her office will investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former chief White House medical adviser, days after Fauci's testimony at a fiery Senate hearing on the federal COVID-19 response.
Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times during the hearing, declining to answer senators' questions.
Murrill, a Republican, did not detail the specific scope or timeline of the inquiry. Her office has authority to investigate potential violations of state law or to gather evidence for broader legal action.
The probe marks a new phase of scrutiny for Fauci, who served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for decades and played a central role in the U.S. government's pandemic response under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Louisiana joins several states opening investigations into Fauci following his Senate appearance, part of a sustained political drive to examine the federal government's handling of the pandemic and its origins.
Fauci's repeated use of the Fifth Amendment drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers. Sen. Rand Paul had pressed Fauci on the pandemic response and his personal communications.
Federal oversight committees continue their own inquiries into the origins of the virus and the efficacy of public health measures taken during the pandemic.
