The Case for Pardoning Fauci

Dr. Joseph Marine is back with a compelling argument for a preemptive pardon for Dr. Fauci. The editors are split on his case. You decide.

Last month, the White House floated the idea of a prophylactic Presidential pardon for former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and several other officials.

Dr. Fauci came under fire in 2021 for his answer to a direct question from Senator Rand Paul regarding alleged NIH funding for gain-of-function (GOF) research on coronaviruses performed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

While Fauci denied that the NIH had ever funded such research, the NIH had to clarify his remarks, and Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak acknowledged in Congressional testimony in 2024 that the NIH had indeed funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Sen. Paul later referred Fauci to the Justice Department for prosecution, although no action has been taken. Elon Musk famously adopted the cause in a notorious X post that received 1.1 million likes:

In addition to allegedly lying to Congress, Fauci has been variously accused on social media of malfeasance in oversight of the type of virology research, which may have caused the covid pandemic. He’s also accused of helping to cover up a laboratory origin of covid.

Members of the public have weighed in on different sides of the issue of a pardon. I am inclined to favor a last-minute pardon as Biden leaves office next week for the following reasons:

1. It is unlikely that Fauci will ever be prosecuted. Lying to Congress is rarely prosecuted, and the present case would hinge on the highly technical matter of what kind of research qualifies as “gain-of-function.” While Fauci should have given an honest, candid, and complete answer to Sen. Paul’s question, he would likely have a technical defense against a charge of perjury.

2. Even if prosecuted, it is unlikely that Fauci would be convicted. Especially in deep blue DC where such a trial would likely take place. Fauci remains very popular and admired in many regions of the country. Finding a jury of 12 who would vote unanimously for a conviction seems an impossible task that few prosecutors would want to undertake, no matter what the evidence.

3. Prosecuting Fauci and failing to gain a conviction would likely provoke a backlash. He would become even more popular among his supporters, overshadowing his numerous mistakes and misjudgments in the pandemic response, which is where the focus should be. The overreach of his prosecution and unfounded accusations made by his opponents would be equated with poor judgment on the part of those who opposed his pandemic policies.

4. A pardon would serve as a lasting badge of dishonor. Especially for those who would most like to see him prosecuted. If Fauci had done nothing criminal, then why would a pardon be necessary?

5. Fauci’s many failings during the pandemic were not crimes. The US pandemic response was a fiasco, and Fauci was at the center of it all. He was an OG on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, a top medical advisor to both President Trump and President Biden, head of the agency which directs almost all infectious disease and public health research, and the US government’s principal spokesman for its pandemic policies. The worst of these policies, including lockdowns, widespread and prolonged business and school closures, fear-based messaging, masking young children, and vaccine mandates, now have few defenders.

Dr. Fauci was dishonest, misleading, and inaccurate in statements to the public on many subjects, including efficacy of masking, the possibility of a laboratory origin of covid, the nature of immunity from recovered infection, herd immunity thresholds from vaccination, the cause of SARS-CoV-2 variants, risk of covid to children, risks of school reopening, and risks and benefits of the covid vaccines. He was not candid about the NIH’s financial conflict of interest with vaccine manufacturers. He effectively appointed himself as the unquestionable source of Science and Truth regarding covid and the pandemic response. However, poor judgment, arrogance, grandiosity, dogmatism, and even dishonesty with the public are not crimes.

6. Fauci had many accomplices. “Fauci” as a phenomenon during the pandemic would not have been possible without a sycophantic corporate media which gave him an unlimited megaphone and never asked him a single challenging question. His widespread support among the US academic medical establishment allowed him to almost single-handedly define the narrow Overton window of acceptable discussion of the pandemic response. Anything outside of this confine lay “anti-science”, “misinformation”, and “granny-killing.” US academic medical leaders effectively followed him into a dystopian world of lockdowns, abridgment of basic rights and freedoms, censorship, and public health dogmatism. They failed to promote open discussion and debate of covid policies and in many cases quietly worked to suppress dissent.

7. Covid investigations should target events and decisions, not people. I am hopeful that the new administration will bring about a fuller investigation of the origin of covid and the poor decisions and mistakes that were made in the pandemic response. Targeting individuals without clear evidence would serve as a distraction from that more important purpose.

So that is my case for a Fauci pardon. Reasonable people can disagree, but in my view disgrace and ridicule are the best punishments for a pompous, self-important figure who craves honor and glory.

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Editors’ Note: Thanks again for your support. Comments will be open to paid subscribers. This is a controversial topic. Please keep your arguments logic- based. Ad hominem is a sign of soft thinking. JMM