Rand Paul

“The statute of limitations expires tomorrow,” he added. “The American people have waited long enough for accountability.”

The renewed pressure comes years after heated exchanges between the men during congressional testimony, in which Paul accused Fauci of supporting risky virus research at the Wuhan lab before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fauci, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades and became one of the country’s most visible public health figures during the pandemic, repeatedly denied lying to Congress and disputed Paul’s characterization of the research.

President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon of Fauci on his last night in office, but Paul has not given up seeking criminal charges. Paul has questioned whether the pardon is valid because Biden allegedly signed it using an autopen.

David Morens, Fauci’s top adviser, was federally indicted last month on charges of allegedly taking part in a conspiracy to evade federal records requests regarding government-funded COVID-19 research.

Paul has pointed to Morens’ indictment as a reason to go after Fauci before the statute of limitations is up.

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“For years, I warned that Fauci and his inner circle buried the truth about Wuhan,” Paul said on May 6. “Fauci lied to Congress under oath. The statute of limitations expires in 5 days.”