Senator Rand Paul is turning up the pressure on Dr. Anthony Fauci once again—this time seizing on new revelations that the former NIAID chief’s controversial pardon might not even be legitimate. On Monday, Paul announced he is refiling his criminal referral to the Department of Justice, demanding an investigation into Fauci for alleged perjury and potential crimes related to gain-of-function research.

The fresh referral follows bombshell reporting from The New York Times that former President Biden may not have personally signed off on Fauci’s pardon, or others issued during his chaotic final hours in office. Instead, those clemency orders were allegedly executed by staffers using an autopen—a mechanical signature device—on the word of aides, not Biden himself.

That revelation has triggered a legal and political firestorm, especially surrounding Fauci’s “full and unconditional” pardon, which covered possible federal crimes dating back to 2014. Critics say that timeframe conveniently overlaps with key funding decisions on gain-of-function research and raises suspicions of a cover-up.

Molecular biologist Dr. Richard Ebright of Rutgers, a longtime Fauci critic, said the pardon likely served as an accountability shield. He cited a laundry list of alleged offenses: violations of federal research policies, conspiracy to defraud, perjury, and use of taxpayer funds to conduct dangerous experiments linked to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If this pardon was never lawfully approved by the president himself, it’s not worth the paper it was printed on,” said one source close to congressional investigators.

Senator Paul agrees—and he’s not letting up. He declared on social media, “Perjury is a crime. And Fauci must be held accountable.”

The heart of Paul’s complaint is that Fauci lied under oath during a 2021 Senate hearing. At the time, Fauci flatly denied that his agency funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But Paul pointed to a 2017 study conducted at the lab—one that openly credited funding from both NIAID and USAID—and argued it clearly met the definition of such research.

“These viruses were manipulated to infect humans,” Paul stated. “That’s gain-of-function, and Fauci knew it.”

Fauci famously fired back at the senator during the hearing, declaring, “Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly.” He insisted that the cited study did not qualify under NIH’s gain-of-function criteria.

But Paul didn’t drop it. He sent a criminal referral to the DOJ, citing EcoHealth Alliance’s now-notorious research grants, including NIAID award R01AI110964. That grant, funneled through Peter Daszak’s organization, supported Wuhan lab research now under intense scrutiny by House and Senate investigations.

Even more damning was an email uncovered by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. It allegedly showed Fauci privately acknowledging that gain-of-function work had indeed been conducted—despite his public denials.

Now, with Biden’s haphazard use of the autopen under review, questions swirl around whether Fauci’s pardon is even valid. According to the Times, the decisions to pardon high-profile figures like Fauci were not made directly by Biden, but rather through a game of telephone among aides, finalized by White House staff secretary Stefanie Feldman and Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients.

Biden admitted he didn’t personally review each clemency case, telling the Times that he had to move quickly due to the volume. “A whole lot of people,” he said vaguely. But that vague justification could backfire. Legal analysts now say if Fauci’s pardon wasn’t constitutionally executed, it could be null and void.

That’s exactly what Paul is betting on.

The senator is now calling on the DOJ—under a Trump administration no longer friendly to Fauci—to take the issue seriously and investigate potential crimes that go far beyond perjury, possibly including fraudulent misuse of federal funds and obstruction of investigations into COVID’s origins.

With Fauci’s once-bulletproof reputation under siege, and his questionable pardon unraveling, the stakes have never been higher. The outcome of Paul’s renewed referral could determine whether Fauci faces real accountability—or walks away once again.