House Oversight Chairman James Comer has a blunt warning for Dr. Anthony Fauci before his return to Capitol Hill: Joe Biden’s pardon cannot protect him from anything he says under oath now.
Fauci is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by longtime nemesis Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
“Biden’s pardon doesn’t cover Dr. Fauci’s testimony this week and if he continues to lie, he must be held accountable,” Comer told Fox News Digital.
The Kentucky Republican said newly released pages from Fauci’s pandemic diary help explain why Biden issued the sweeping pardon during his final hours in office.
“We now know why President Biden gave a blanket pardon to Dr. Fauci,” Comer said. “While obsessing about his own fame, Dr. Fauci wasn’t truthful with the American people about the origins of COVID and advised schools to be closed.”
Joe Biden’s pardon doesn’t cover Dr. Fauci’s testimony this week.
If he continues to lie, he must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/JUrfKBstTS
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) July 28, 2026
Fauci denies wrongdoing and has said conservative lawmakers made him a political target because of anger over the government’s COVID response.
Biden’s pardon covered potential federal offenses committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Jan. 19, 2025, that arose from Fauci’s government service. That included his work as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and as a White House COVID adviser.
The official pardon protects Fauci from federal prosecution for covered conduct during that period. It does not grant immunity for a new crime, including intentionally giving false testimony after the pardon was issued.
Paul’s committee is expected to question Fauci about more than 1,000 pages of private diary entries released ahead of the Wednesday hearing.
One entry is likely to receive particular attention.
“I spoke with Bill de Blasio (Mayor, NYC) and convinced him based on what I was saying publicly and my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools,” Fauci wrote during the pandemic, according to Fox News.
During a closed-door House interview in January 2024, Fauci said, “I did not close the schools.”
Fauci did not personally possess the legal authority to close schools. The diary entry, however, indicates that he viewed his public comments and private advice as influential in de Blasio’s decision.
Republican physicians in the House say the questions extend beyond one disputed statement.
“Dr. Fauci, enamored with his own fame and vanity, put politics above science during the pandemic,” Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., said. “He is primarily responsible for the resulting multi-generational erosion of trust in American medicine.”
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— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) July 28, 2026
