MarketPR
Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times at a Senate hearing Wednesday.
That number became the catalyst for state investigations across at least three states, with Alabama and Florida each signaling intent to examine whether the presidential pardon signed by former President Joe Biden leaves Fauci exposed at the state level.
The constitutional hinge: presidential pardons extend only to "offenses against the United States," a phrase that excludes state crimes.
Josh Hawley argued at the hearing that Biden's blanket pardon erased Fauci's federal criminal exposure for covered conduct, which in turn undercut the basis for invoking the Fifth.
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