Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he would open an investigation into Anthony Fauci following a Senate hearing in which the former infectious-disease chief repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment. The move adds state-level legal pressure to continuing political disputes over Fauci’s role in the US response to the COVID-19 pandemic and research policy.

Fox News reported that Fauci pleaded the Fifth more than 100 times during questioning, while Senator Rand Paul called for him to be held in contempt of Congress. The hearing focused on allegations concerning COVID-19 origins, gain-of-function research and the handling of records; the article did not establish that Fauci had committed any wrongdoing.