Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said her office would investigate former US infectious-disease official Dr Anthony Fauci after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a Senate hearing. The announcement adds a state-level legal dimension to Republican efforts to scrutinise Fauci’s role in the COVID-19 response, although no charges or specific alleged state-law violations were announced.

Fauci declined to answer more than 100 questions at the hearing, chaired by Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has long accused him of misleading Congress; Fauci denies wrongdoing and said the hearing aimed to secure testimony that could be used against him. Former President Joe Biden issued Fauci a pre-emptive federal pardon in early 2025, but such a pardon does not apply to possible state offences, which Louisiana officials cited as grounds for examining the matter.