Rand Paul sends official criminal referral on Anthony Fauci to DOJ

[Omaha Steve]

Source: The Hill

By Christian Spencer

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made good on his threat to refer Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden and director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to the Justice Department for allegedly lying to Congress about funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

As Changing America previously reported, Fauci said that the National Institutes of Health “has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology” in response to Paul’s unsubstantiated claims to the contrary during a May hearing.

Last Tuesday, Paul asked Fauci if he would like to retract a previous statement, saying “as you are aware it is a crime to lie to Congress.”

Fauci said he would not retract the statement and was adamant that he has never lied before Congress.

Read more: https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/564803-rand-paul-sends-official-criminal-referral-on

[truthisfreedom]

1. Such an idiot.

[PortTack]

2. Blah blah blah

[zuul]

3. What an ass!

More from the article about the process:

The following Wednesday, reported The Washington Examiner, the Kenucky senator officially sent a request to Attorney General Merrick Garland to open a criminal investigation of Fauci’s statement.

"I write to urge the United States Department of Justice to open an investigation into testimony made to the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on May 11, 2021," Paul wrote in the referral obtained byThe Examiner.

I hope Garland dismisses it immediately.

[Wounded Bear]

75. I'd love to see Mr Paul be interrogated during discovery on that one...

As the accuser, he is the primary witness.

I don't think it would go the way he thinks it would.

[leftieNanner]

77. You mean, kinda like his interview with Rachel Maddow a few years ago?

[zuul]

78. Guess he didn't think of that!

[SarcasticSatyr]

4. Nothing but political theater ...

Paul is an idiot.

[Rebl2]

12. Paul

Is the one lying to the American people

[melm00se]

65. All politics is theater n/t

[catrose]

5. I really hope there's a way for Dr. Fauci to strike back, along the lines of frivolous lawsuit

These goons have weaponized the law and courts; there needs to be risk for them.

[Tadpole Raisin]

48. +1000

That twerp needs to be hit with a fine!

The only ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ I wish there would be is a file 3 frivolous lawsuits (with increasing fines)
and you’re out.

I know… ain’t gonna happen.

[Warpy]

6. He's a thin skinned little twerp, isn't he?

Rand Paul is going to get nowhere with this. He tried to play "gotcha" and failed miserably and got called on it.

Dr. Fauci is right about him. Rand Paul really doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Midnight Writer]

16. Exactly. A petty little man who can't take being sassed.

[Sibelius Fan]

7. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Such an asshole.

[grumpyduck]

8. That PoS knows exactly what he's doing.

More distractions and talking points for the right-wing media.

[pazzyanne]

62. "distractions"

Exactly! The thing that they are good at doing. "Look at this over here. Don't look at that!"

[Fritz Walter]

80. Look at what I found!

Ayn Rand (Paul)'s panda ring:

[Mike Nelson]

9. I think...

... other Senators should publicly thank Rand Paul for reminding them of this crime. It seems to have been forgotten during the Trump administration. The Fauci "lie" will go nowhere... but Barr, Kavanaugh, Trump himself (in a written answer), and others have lied. Time to LOCK THEM UP!

[Jimvanhise]

10. BUT NOT DONALD TRUMP?

No criminal referral for Donald Trump who removed the CDC observer they had at Wuhan because Obama had put them there? Trump, who disbanded the pandemic response team because they had been created by President Obama? Trump, who in February 2020 called the pandemic "their new hoax." About all that Rand Paul says nothing.

[Phoenix61]

11. The really scary part is he somehow managed to

graduate from medical school. That, in and of itself, scares the heck out of me.

[hlthe2b]

17. But he never qualified to receive board certification from AAO (American Academy of Opthalmology)

so he had the audacity to create his own "board" (National Opthalmology Board) so that he could claim board certification in the specialty.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/11/08/rand-paul-has-another-problem/


So his whole career is one big lie and his ignorance well documented.

[calimary]

39. Let's not forget this level of quackery in his behavior.

rand paul is 100-million different kinds of disgusting.

[NJCher]

53. I didn't know about the certification

Apparently he once was certified by a mainstream board but when renewal came up, they refused to renew him.

That prol'ly never happens but I'd guess tales of his assholery got around to the board.

snip

The Courier-Journal points out today that Paul’s board “is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, which works with the American Medical Association to approve such specialty boards.”

The American Board of Medical Specialties does recognize the American Board of Ophthalmology. More than 19 in 20 American ophthalmologists are certified through ABO — but Paul isn’t. He was certified with the ABO from 1995 until 2005, when his certification lapsed, and was not renewed.

snip

[hlthe2b]

57. The WAPO link (if you can access it) has a great deal of detail...

In fact, he broke KY law by advertising as Board Certified. He actually never was.

[CurtEastPoint]

13. No wonder his neighbor beat him up.

[lkinwi]

43. I was thinking the same thing.

I feel sorry for anyone unlucky enough to be the twerp’s neighbor.

[Major Nikon]

96. His neighbor beat him up exactly because he's a festering asshole

His neighbor obsessed over his yard and Paul kept pilling up trash on their property line just to spite him. His neighbor asked him several times to stop and even cleaned it up for him repeatedly and Paul kept doing it. Right or wrong Paul needed his ass kicked and in true festering asshole fashion he pretended he was a completely innocent victim in the whole thing. If a case like this went to trial and I was on the jury, I would not have voted to convict. You can only push so far and not expect a reaction.

[JohnSJ]

14. Sue the POS for defamation of character along with frivolous lawsuit.

[pwb]

15. McConnell, Paul, tobacco, coal, and

liquor. Most of those should be in the past. We are forced to live with what these shit head drunks think?

[Ray Bruns]

18. I am sure any criminal referral paul sends to the DOJ

will be filed in the appropriate round receptacle.

[usaf-vet]

19. I listen to that exchange between R. Paul and Doctor Fauci. R.P. WAS NOT listening what the Doctor..

.... kept trying to say in between R.P.'s interruptions.

In the larger picture, it's a JOKE for a republican to call for an investigation for lying to Congress. The last US Attorney General (R) for TFG made lying to Congress the default response mode.

Apparently, the repugs want to reserve the practice of lying to Congress and by extension the American People a "right" reserved only for themselves.

[BradAllison]

20. Fuck Rand Paul

Also, Fuck Ron Paul.

[calimary]

41. That whole weasely family can go blow as far as I'm concerned.

[paulkienitz]

52. their libertarian ideals are just an intellectual cover for defending privilege

...and in Ron's case, that very much includes white privilege.

[mountain grammy]

21. To quote a caller to his town hall..

"Senator Paul, get fucked"

[Ligyron]

54. I sprayed my iPhone's screen on that one!

Great idea however.

[lastlib]

22. Phuck Rand Paul. That is all.

Would it be wrong to start a fund to pay his neighbor to give him another beating?

[dobleremolque]

23. The shame is that it's not a crime

to lie as a Member of Congress.

[Bayard]

24. More riling up the base

Total bullshit, and Paul knows it.

[hadEnuf]

25. Make that little bastard Rand Paul pay dearly for this politically, any way we can.

Enough is enough with these RWNJ's abusing the system.

[packman]

26. Sound and fury signifying nothing

[nuxvomica]

27. What a pathetic bully!

So this so-called Libertarian wants to use the full force of the government to silence a formidable critic of his BS, knowing full well that as a member of Congress he can lie all he wants and no one can prosecute him for it.

[ashredux]

28. Fauci made him look like a fool....this is just retribution from a stupid Senator

[NurseJackie]

29. Apparently, making false accusations against people is quite popular these days...

Apparently, making false accusations against people is quite popular these days... especially when it serves no good purpose other than to "cover one's ass" and distract from the fact that mistakes have been made. Every good LIAR knows that they must "double-down" and repeat the lie (loudly!) when the lie has been discovered and called-out for what it is. I hate liars.

[ScratchCat]

30. For those who haven't watched the exchange

If you haven't watched it, Paul and Fauci completely discuss his previous statements to Congress and Fauci explains why it isn't inconsistent with what he is saying now(it was all about funding and what represents rain-of-function research). The fact that they both repeat what he said then, and discuss the issue further now, precludes anything he said from being "perjury". Paul was trying to disagree with what constitutes "gain-of-function" and then frame that disagreement as "perjury". Calling it childish doesn't even do it justice.

[ancianita]

31. Once this is dismissed, Paul should be charged with a frivolous lawsuit. No wonder his neighbor

kicked his ass.

[bucolic_frolic]

32. If there were such research

I wonder who in government knows about it?

[ancianita]

63. That's research Paul claims to have evidence of. I think the source he quotes

isn't sufficient evidence, and neither does Rand Paul have standing to make a criminal referrall to the DOJ. A criminal referral, as wiki explains it, has to be an agency of government or private counsel, meaning not the formal capacity Rand Paul works in, and it has to be after some formal agency investigation. This has been a topic for interest, but RP's not on any committee that would do a formal investigation of the topic, as far as we know.

In the U.S. federal government, regulatory and law enforcement agencies that investigate crimes must typically refer cases to the Department of Justice for prosecution at its discretion. These referrals may not require formal documentation, but may include a case report. In a direct referral, agencies refer cases to the U.S. Attorney in the district where the crime occurred.[1] The United States Congress and its members, in their investigative role, issue criminal referrals to the Justice Department as well.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_referral

[MurrayDelph]

70. What are the penalties

for filling a false and malicious complaint?

[ancianita]

90. He has no knowledge that what he's filing is false. It could just be one scientific opinion, is all.

Rand Paul might be dead worried and serious about this, believe he's got probable cause that the DOJ should investigate further. So it's really too early to say Rand Paul himself is in trouble.

And the DOJ might or might not have time to build a case to arrive at a decision that the filer's motives and information are false or malicious, but only what the filer asks to be investigated.
This is not just a case about what Fauci is responsible for saying about the money and programs in Wuhan, it's about what he could possibly have known about the facts of the science labs at Wuhan. It could add up to cock-ups on both ends; as soon as someone in the judiciary decides they've got enough to toss it or go forward, then we can ask about malice and falsity. We're not entitled to know the details of the case, and so we're still a long way from knowing the facts, or anything at all about it, imo.

[LudwigPastorius]

33. Eat shit, Rand.

Why don't you move to a libertarian paradise like Somalia?

[11 Bravo]

34. Dear Rand, being exposed as a jackass and having your fee-fees hurt ...

do not constitute criminal acts.
Hell, you're no more a lawyer than you are a real doctor.

[BlueStater]

35. Loathsome, curly-haired little fucker. n/t

[GB_RN]

40. Porn-perm Paul

[marble falls]

36. Too bad he is protected from being charged for filing nuisance suits.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. Rand Paul's neighbor was right.

[LiberalFighter]

38. Paul needs to be censured and maybe he should be referred to the FBI.

[KS Toronado]

42. Go right ahead and stir the pot over at the DOJ Paul.......

and watch them make you an ingredient in one of their investigations for bothering them.

[pressbox69]

44. Isn't Randy Rand Paul

afraid that his neighbor will bash his ugly face again?

[Pepsidog]

45. Note to Rand Paul's neighbor, it's time for Rand's yearly tune up.

[LudwigPastorius]

59. Jean Shepard used to refer to a follow-up beating as...

a "refresher course".

[Pepsidog]

68. Haha! I like it.

[sarge43]

72. Reinforcing the learning process. n/t

[StClone]

46. We should let Kentucky and their ilk secede

Then, re-invade them and FORCE them to be normal...resisters will be rehabilitated unless they persist then jailed, aka Paul.

[Historic NY]

47. Rand Paul is a quack....

[paulkienitz]

49. That's the MO: pull a crazy lie out of their ass, and then get stuck with acting as if it were true.

[Ford_Prefect]

50. Last time I checked the Senator was a prolific liar whether in chamber or outside it.

He has certainly told a few whoppers of his own while serving on his various committees.

Although I doubt he'd want to claim that it takes one to know one.

[RAB910]

51. Paul is the one that needs to be criminally charged

[AllaN01Bear]

55. during the big winter freeze last winter , the idiot fled to cancoun and didnt wear

a mask on the plane . didnt take a required re entry test and abandoned his family while he whinned " im cold whilst a fair number of texans lost their homes and or died . bah humbug.

[Hekate]

79. You have him confused with Ted Cruz. They both leave slime trails, though.

[Texin]

56. Paul is such a putz. Because Fauci gave him an "ouchie" last week he's

hellbent to get him punished for kicking his ass in open testimony. The guy has got to be the biggest loser in the Senate.

[Marthe48]

58. sniveling jerkoff

Who votes for these mealy asses?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

60. Refer Paul for criminal wasting of Justice Department time with bogus referrals

Then refer Paul for lying to Congress. I'm sure in his recent record, say 2020 and 2021, on the floor of the Senate it will be possible to find many lies. Should probably consider his statements looking down from above during Committee hearings similarly under his oath to uphold the Constitution and by extension the prohibitions against lying to Congress.

[YoshidaYui]

61. Totemo Baka yaro desu

He’s a stupid fucking idiot.

[Hassler]

64. Senator Ayn Paul's neighbor had the right idea. Everyone hates him.

[Orrex]

67. Canada should put his hernia back.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

69. Fauci's lawyer (Justice dept?) should take my lawyer's advice..

...when my landlord tried to evict me. He said we would delay and delay and wait til we got a tenant friendly judge. It worked.

[RobertDevereaux]

71. This utter asshole is such an UTTER ASSHOLE...

Please be so kind as to kick this blot upon humanity OUT of Congress!

[Wounded Bear]

73. I'd love to see Mr Paul be interrogated during discovery on that one...

Somehow, I don't think it would go like he thinks it might. As the accuser, he would be the primary witness.

[Tarc]

74. They'll open that letter, read it, go "LOL, nope"

and file it in the circular receptacle by the desk.

[Botany]

76. Fuck you Paul. Fauci is so far above you it isn't funny.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215660336

Hey, everybody come look at Dr. Fauci and pay no attention to why and how the world
got over run by C-19.

[IcyPeas]

81. criminal referral for the guy to said to inject disinfectant and shove a tube of light up your ass.

[Paper Roses]

82. R.P. is a sick man. Better yet, disgusting!

[Ford_Prefect]

83. IMO Senator RP should be wary of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

Otherwise referred to as "Be careful what you wish for."

[Alice Kramden]

84. Rand Paul should be censured for this n/t

[LiberalLovinLug]

85. Is there any way to counter sue for lying?

I know its not a suit. But I wish there is a way Fauci can reciprocate the favor.

[riversedge]

86. Rand Paul is very vindictive. He had a hissy fit when Fauci told him he did not know what he

was talking about. hence the suit.

[NellieStarbuck]

87. I hope that DOJ's official response is "Go shit in your hat."

[EndlessWire]

88. Doesn't that imply

that Rand Paul knows more about the origin of the virus than he ever revealed? He should be grilled by someone. Otherwise, I think he should be censored for wasting our valuable time.

Good grief, we have a rapidly deteriorating government...

[SouthernCal_Dem]

89. Rand Paul's neighbor had enough of him.

Can't blame him.

If anyone deserves an ass beating, it's Rand Paul

[oldsoftie]

91. Well, the burden of proof is on YOU, Senator.

Put up or shut up.
If you have real proof of it, then lets see it.

[Javaman]

92. this isn't about Fauci per say...

what he wants is for the DOJ to tell him to go piss up a rope.

Why?

because then he can claim they don't do anything.

that they are against "upholding the law".

this is more about him trying to earn cred among the ring wing assholes.

[JohnnyRingo]

93. Didn't take being called a liar very well, did he?

I wonder how far this goes before the first judge throws it out?

[AngryOldDem]

94. Fine, Sen. Paul...

We’ll get right on this, sir! [as the referral gets dropped into the nearest round file]

[Major Nikon]

95. I don't condone Rand Paul's neighbor handing his ass to him

…but I understand

[area51]

97. Rand Paul has an unhealthy obsession with Dr. Fauci. n/t

[orangecrush]

98. Good luck with that, whacko