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Rand Paul vows to keep pressure on Fauci as statute of limitations on criminal referral expires Monday
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The statute of limitations on Dr. Anthony Fauci’s criminal referral for lying to Congress about gain-of-function research expires Monday, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is vowing to keep up the pressure on «the COVID coverup» with a Senate hearing this week.
«David Morens, Dr. Fauci’s top advisor, was indicted, but Fauci himself still walks free,» Paul, who has long pressed Fauci in heated exchanges in congressional hearings, wrote this week on X, continuing his urging of the Justice Department to pick up charges from his criminal referral despite former President Joe Biden issuing a sweeping preemptive pardon of Fauci on his last night in office Jan. 19, 2025.
«The DOJ has 5 days to indict Fauci before the statute of limitations runs out. The clock is ticking. Justice cannot wait.»
The Biden pardon and Fauci’s statute of limitations expiration Monday shields the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and chief medical advisor to Biden, but Morens was indicted late last month for having «deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19.»
EX-FAUCI TOP ADVISOR INDICTED OVER ALLEGED COVID COVER-UP, HIDDEN EMAILS
Sen. Rand Paul questions Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal response to monkeypox on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
«For years, I warned that Fauci and his inner circle buried the truth about Wuhan,» Paul wrote Wednesday on X. «Now his closest adviser has been indicted.
«Fauci lied to Congress under oath. The statute of limitations expires in 5 days. Will the DOJ finally indict Fauci?»
The Trump Justice Department under former Attorney General Pam Bondi or acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has made no public statements about bringing charges.
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«While we can all have our beefs with Congress, this isn’t in our hands any longer,» Paul wrote Thursday on X. «I DID the work, investigated, and sent multiple CRIMINAL referrals to the DOJ.
«Whether he is indicted or not now is not up to Congress. It is up to the DoJ, and no one else.»
«He lied to Congress about NIH funding dangerous gain-of-function research in Wuhan and engaged in the worst cover-up in modern medical history,» Paul added in another X post. «The American people want Fauci behind bars.»
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Dr. Anthony Fauci gives an opening statement during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal response to COVID-19 and new variants on Jan. 11, 2022, at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Sen. Rand Paul also speaks during the hearing titled «Addressing New Variants: A Federal Perspective on the COVID-19 Response.» (Greg Nash/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has publicly rejected the Biden autopen pardons as having no force or «legal effect,» but there is no precedent for a new president nullifying a past president’s pardons, because they would potentially render presidential pardon authority ultimately powerless against a new administration’s agenda.
«Anyone receiving ‘Pardons,’ ‘Commutations,’ or any other Legal Document so signed, please be advised that said Document has been fully and completely terminated, and is of no Legal effect,» Trump wrote in December on Truth Social.
Just two days after the Fauci clock runs out, Paul is chairing a Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs committee hearing with a «COVID coverup» whistleblower Wednesday.
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«Next week I’m holding a hearing with a whistleblower who will testify publicly about the COVID coverup,» Paul teased in an X post. «Mark your calendars: Wednesday, May 13 at 10 a.m.
«The truth is coming.»
Paul renewed a criminal referral to the DOJ last July to investigate whether Fauci’s May 2021 statements violated federal false-statements law. In the referral, Paul pointed to Fauci’s testimony that «the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.»
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Paul’s referral also noted Fauci later said he had «never lied before the Congress» and did «not retract that statement» after Paul warned him about the criminal implications of lying to Congress.
The referral cites a February 2020 email released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, in which Fauci wrote that «scientists in Wuhan University are known to have been working on gain-of-function experiments» involving bat viruses and human infection.
Paul argued that the email contradicted Fauci’s sworn testimony.
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Paul also cited research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that he said was funded under a NIAID award and involved combining spike genes from bat SARS-related coronaviruses with another coronavirus backbone to create chimeric viruses capable of infecting human cells.
«This research, conducted at the WIV and funded under NIAID Award R01AI110964, fits the definition of gain-of-function research,» the referral stated.
The criminal referral further cites a 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found the WIV and Wuhan University received NIH funding. According to Paul’s referral, the GAO said NIH funded a project that included «genetic experiments to combine naturally occurring bat coronaviruses with SARS and MERS viruses, resulting in hybridized coronavirus strains.»
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Anyone who makes a materially false statement in a congressional investigation or review can face fines and up to five years in prison.
Paul’s July referral also challenged the legal effect of a preemptive pardon Fauci received from Biden’s autopen.
«New information has revealed that these pardons were executed via autopen, with no documented confirmation that the President personally reviewed or approved each individual grant of clemency,» Paul wrote. «According to reports, White House staff authorized the use of the autopen to issue the clemency documents.
«This raises serious constitutional and legal concerns about the legitimacy of Dr. Fauci’s pardon.»
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Fauci has repeatedly denied lying to Congress, including forcefully to Paul himself in multiple congressional hearings.
«Dr. Fauci, knowing that it is a crime to lie to Congress, do you wish to retract your statement of May 11 [2021], where you claimed at the NIH never funded gain-of-function research and move on?» Paul asked in a July 2021 Senate hearing.
«Sen. Paul, I have never lied before the Congress, and I do not retract that statement,» Fauci shot back.
«Let me finish!» Fauci added, when Paul tried to interject. «Sen. Paul, you do not know what you’re talking about, quite frankly. And I want to say that officially, you do not know what you’re talking about.»
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The nature of the alleged lie revolves around the definition and denials of gain-of-function research surrounding COVID-19.
«You’re dancing around this because you’re trying to obscure responsibility for four million people dying around them from a pandemic,» Paul said in the famed exchange, adding, «you are obviously obfuscating the truth.»
Fauci replied, «I’m not obfuscating the truth – you are.»
«You are implying that what we did was responsible for the deaths of individuals,» he added. «I totally resent that.»
Paul shot back, «It could have been.»
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«If there is any lying here, senator, it is you,» Fauci said, shaking his finger at Paul.
Sitting members of Congress are provided immunity under the speech and debate clause of the Constitution, while most of those investigated by Congress and subject to testifying under oath, which Fauci did.
anthony fauci, hearings, congress, rand paul, investigations
Ni el genocidio en Gaza y la muerte de decenas de miles de palestinos (fue la respuesta militar a los atentados de Hamás en Palestina), ni el juicio contra la dirigencia israelí en la Corte Penal Internacional sirvieron para que la Unión Europea reaccionara rápido contra Israel. Pero el barco europeo, lento y complejo de virar, debe aprobar este lunes, en una reunión de cancilleres, sus primeras sanciones directas contra Israel. Hasta ahora se había sancionado personalmente a los dirigentes más violentos de los colonos en tierras ocupadas a Palestina, pero ahora ya se ataca a la economía.
Los ministros tienen varias opciones sobre la mesa. La más probable, la que según fuentes diplomáticas es prácticamente imposible de frenar ya porque debe salir por mayoría cualificada, no por unanimidad, es la prohibición de exportar a Europa cualquier producto que tenga como origen la Palestina ocupada por Israel.
Los cancilleres también tratarán de los últimos acontecimientos en Ucrania y de la situación en Líbano y en el Estrecho de Ormuz, pero sin decisiones previstas.
La Comisión Europea, presidida por una Úrsula von der Leyen que como miembro de la CDU alemana se ha negado repetidamente a sancionar a Israel, terminó por verse forzada por los gobiernos a preparar un documento con opciones para los cancilleres. La ‘canciller’ Kaja Kallas también empujó a favor de las sanciones.
Más allá de esas restricciones al comercio desde los territorios ocupados, que es la opción que más apoyo recaba y difícilmente será bloqueada, los cancilleres tienen otras opciones que políticamente serían más difíciles de aprobar. Algunas porque recaen en competencias de política exterior para las que se necesita unanimidad. Y Alemania aplicaría su veto.
Los ministros también tendrán sobre la mesa la posibilidad de aprobar sanciones personales contra el ministro ultraderechista israelí Itamar Ben-Gvir. En algunos documentos aparece también su colega Bezalel Smotrich, aunque el foco sigue sobre Ben-Gvir, sobre todo después de haber aparecido videos suyos amenazando y humillando a ciudadanos europeos de una flotilla de solidaridad con Palestina que fue abordada por Israel en el Mediterráneo y sus miembros trasladados a Israel.
De sancionarse a Ben-Gvir se buscaría congelar todos sus activos en Europa, se cortaría cualquier relación con su Ministerio y se le prohibiría la entrada en la Unión Europea. Tampoco es muy probable que Ben-Gvir fuera a pisar Europa porque ya hay varios sistemas judiciales europeos que lo tienen en el punto de mira por el acontecimiento de aquella flotilla.
Una opción que sigue sobre la mesa pero que difícilmente se aprobaría porque Alemania aplicaría su veto sería la suspensión parcial del Acuerdo de Asociación UE-Israel. A Israel le da derecho a mantener relaciones comerciales preferenciales (la UE es su primer socio comercial) y a participar en proyectos de cooperación científica como si fuera prácticamente un Estado miembro de la UE.
Varios gobiernos, como el español, el irlandés o el belga defienden que se suspenda ese acuerdo alegando que Israel estaría incumpliendo la cláusula de derechos humanos del mismo. España, Irlanda, Bélgica, Francia y Suecia son, salvo matices, los países que más se están moviendo para que este lunes los portavoces europeos puedan ya decir que “la Unión Europea aprueba sus primeras sanciones contra Israel”.
El papel de Kaja Kallas ha ido virando. Si en los primeros meses tras los atentados de Hamas se puso, con Von der Leyen, del lado del Gobierno de Netanyahu a pesar de que este ya había empezado los bombardeos masivos sobre Gaza, con los meses, y sobre en el último año, fue virando hasta ponerse a favor de las sanciones.
A mediados de junio, en una conversación en un foro privado que terminó por filtrarse, Kallas dijo que Israel se comporta como la Suráfrica del apartheid. El Gobierno israelí exigió una rectificación que nunca se produjo y decidió entonces romper cualquier relación con la canciller europea. Kallas dijo lo que todos piensan en Europa.
La Comisión Europea, que suele ser quien presione y prepare todo para que se aprueben paquetes de sanciones, por ejemplo contra Rusia desde 2022, arrastra los pies. Si por el brazo ejecutivo de la Unión Europea fuera, no habría sanciones contra Israel.
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Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator who rose from small-town roots to GOP power broker, dies at 71
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died Saturday at 71 following what his office described as a «brief and sudden illness,» spent more than three decades as one of the Republican Party’s most influential voices.
The South Carolina Republican forged a congressional career spanning more than 30 years, emerging as one of Capitol Hill’s most recognizable Republicans and a trusted advisor to President Donald Trump on national security, judicial nominations and foreign policy.
Born on July 9, 1955, in Central, South Carolina, Graham grew up helping his parents run the family business before becoming the first in his household to attend college.
His life changed dramatically while he was a student at the University of South Carolina, when both of his parents died within 15 months of each other, leaving him to raise his younger sister.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM DEAD AT 71 AFTER ‘BRIEF AND SUDDEN’ ILLNESS, OFFICE SAYS
Graham launched his congressional career in the U.S. House in 1995, laying the foundation for more than 30 years on Capitol Hill. (Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)
After earning a law degree, Graham joined the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, serving as a military lawyer before entering politics. He remained in the Air Force Reserve throughout much of his congressional career, retiring as a colonel after more than three decades of service.
His political career began in 1992, when he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Two years later, he won a seat in the U.S. House as part of the Republican wave that gave the GOP control of Congress.
He emerged as a national figure during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, serving as one of the House managers who presented the case against Clinton during the 1999 Senate trial.
The high-profile role elevated his standing within the Republican Party and helped establish him as a rising conservative voice on Capitol Hill.
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As a House Republican, Lindsey Graham served as one of the impeachment managers who prosecuted President Bill Clinton during his 1999 Senate trial. (Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images)
In 2002, he was elected to the Senate, succeeding longtime Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond.
Over the next two decades, Graham became one of the Senate’s most influential Republicans on national security, serving on the Armed Services and Judiciary committees while emerging as a leading voice on military affairs, judicial confirmations and U.S. foreign policy.
One of Graham’s closest political relationships was with Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Along with Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, the three became known as the bipartisan «Three Amigos,» frequently traveling to war zones and emerging as some of Congress’ strongest advocates for American military power and support for U.S. allies.
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Alongside the late Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman, Graham was part of the bipartisan «Three Amigos,» a group known for championing national security and U.S. engagement overseas. (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
Graham championed higher defense spending and was among Congress’ most vocal supporters of Israel and, more recently, Ukraine.
He also played a central role in reshaping the federal courts. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Graham helped steer the confirmation of dozens of federal judges, including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett. He also emerged as one of Brett Kavanaugh’s fiercest defenders during the justice’s contentious 2018 confirmation battle, calling the process «the most unethical sham» he had seen in politics.
His relationship with Trump underwent one of Washington’s most notable political transformations.
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After sharply criticizing Trump during the 2016 Republican primary, Graham became one of the president’s closest congressional allies, advising him on judicial nominations, national security and foreign policy while serving as a key defender of his agenda. Graham was once again critical of Trump in the wake of the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, but Trump appeared to shrug that off when he returned to the White House.
Graham remained a leading voice in the Republican conference until his death. At the time of his death, he was serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and campaigning for a fifth Senate term.
He never married and had no children.
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President Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham speak to the media aboard Air Force One enroute to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called Graham «irreplaceable» and the «fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.» Per South Carolina law, McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, who was seeking a fifth term in November.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Graham «was always working,» and called the Palmetto State senator «a true American Patriot.»
Funeral and memorial arrangements were not immediately announced. Trump said on Truth Social that «details and arrangements» would follow.
lindsey graham, republicans elections, donald trump, politics, senate elections
El fortalecimiento de la Zona Libre de Colón es una tarea de múltiples instituciones, una responsabilidad compartida entre el Estado y el sector privado.
Esto lo afirma la Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura de Panamá, luego de que un informe de la Alianza Transnacional para Combatir el Comercio Ilícito (TRACIT), señalara supuestas vulnerabilidades del país frente al comercio ilícito.
Jeffrey Hardy, director general de TRACIT, manifestó esta semana que Panamá ha mostrado avances respecto al índice anterior y que actualmente figura como el segundo país de mejor desempeño en Centroamérica en materia de resiliencia frente al comercio ilícito.
No obstante, advirtió que aún persisten importantes vulnerabilidades relacionadas con las zonas francas, el contrabando de cigarrillos, la falsificación de mercancías, el comercio electrónico y el movimiento de pequeños paquetes procedentes del extranjero.
La regulación de las zonas francas, añadió Hardy, continúa siendo una de las principales debilidades detectadas por la organización en Centroamérica y sostuvo que la Zona Libre de Colón, por su relevancia en el comercio internacional, debe continuar fortaleciendo sus controles, la gestión de riesgos y la cooperación entre el sector público y privado.
Ante este planteamiento, las autoridades nacionales rechazaron “categóricamente” cualquier intento de presentar a la Zona Libre de Colón como un espacio de tolerancia al crimen organizado.
Un comunicado del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores afirmó que esa narrativa “desconoce la realidad, los avances alcanzados y el profundo proceso de modernización que impulsa el Gobierno Nacional».
El planteamiento gubernamental fue más allá al señalar que las incidencias de actividades ilícitas representan apenas el 0,00042% del volumen comercial de una plataforma que mueve más de $25.000 millones anuales, por lo que, a su juicio, se trata de casos aislados y no de una práctica sistemática.
Por su parte, la Cámara de Comercio recuerda que la Zona Libre de Colón es uno de los principales activos estratégicos de Panamá. Su capacidad histórica de casi ocho décadas para conectar mercados, generar empleo y atraer inversión la convierte en una pieza esencial de nuestra plataforma logística y comercial.
En su publicación semanal, avalada por su presidente Aurelio Barría Pino, el organismo empresarial sostiene que para lograr su competitividad la institución avanza en acciones concretas, entre las que cita la creación de la primera Oficina de Cumplimiento, la certificación de auditores BASC, el mantenimiento de la certificación ISO 9001, la integración tecnológica entre el sistema DMCE y la Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas, que aduce unen la gobernanza, la transparencia, la trazabilidad y la mejora continua.
El gremio de los comerciantes también menciona la coordinación permanente con la Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas, la Unidad de Análisis Financiero, el Ministerio de Seguridad Pública, la Dirección General de Ingresos y otras entidades, lo que fortalece la seguridad y la confianza.
A ello, agrega, se suman el Centro de Monitoreo y Videovigilancia, los sistemas inteligentes de control y la cooperación con el gobierno de Estados Unidos para impulsar la capacidad de inspección mediante tecnología de última generación.
“La actualización que hoy experimenta la Zona Libre de Colón la moderniza, la diversifica y la conecta con las nuevas demandas del comercio global. Al mismo tiempo, amplía las oportunidades para aprovechar la integración económica regional y fortalecer las relaciones comerciales con mercados estratégicos, incluyendo los países del Mercosur», anota.
La Cámara de Comercio, Industrias y Agricultura de Panamá puntualiza que continuará siendo una aliada permanente de esta transformación, alegando que la ruta es clara: inversión, tecnología, institucionalidad y trabajo conjunto.
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