House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has warned Dr. Anthony Fauci that the presidential pardon he received does not extend to his upcoming testimony before a Senate panel. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is scheduled to testify on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, following the release of his COVID-19 era diary entries by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Comer told Fox News Digital that "Biden’s pardon doesn’t cover Dr. Fauci’s testimony this week and if he continues to lie, he must be held accountable."

Fauci was included in former President Biden’s last-minute pardons issued hours before President Trump’s inauguration. Biden stated that the pardons were intended to protect public servants and also covered officials who investigated the January 6 insurrection.

The ongoing investigation touches on the origins of SARS-CoV-2, with the two leading scientific theories being that the virus either jumped from animals to humans at a wet market in Wuhan, China, or leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fauci has acknowledged that "somewhere the virus jumped from animals to humans."

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