News Round-Up: 3 States Probe Fauci; Apple Fights UK iCloud Backdoor; Dems Back Billionaire Tax
Twice a week, the editorial team of Freedom Research compiles a round-up of news that caught our eye – or what felt like under-reported aspects of news deserving more attention.
Over the past few days, the following topics attracted our attention:
Three US States Open Probes into Fauci Over COVID Claims
Apple Challenges UK Over iCloud Backdoor Demand
California Democrats Back Tax on Billionaires
Three US States Open Probes into Fauci Over COVID Claims
Authorities in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida have launched probes into Anthony Fauci, the former influential public health official and architect of COVID-19 policy. The investigations rely on newly revealed documents showing that, in private, Fauci did not view the COVID-19 situation as critical, yet publicly recommended policies that suspended people’s fundamental rights and freedoms.
According to Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, Fauci lied when he claimed not to remember many details of his actions. New documents, including his pandemic-era diary, have now emerged. For example, in 2020 Fauci publicly told Congress that COVID-19 was 10 times deadlier than the flu, yet his diary shows that privately he assessed it’s lethality as not significantly different. Murrill has said her office will examine whether Fauci committed any criminal offences that could be charged under state law, according to The Epoch Times.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, the Republican candidate for Governor of Alabama, has also stated that Alabama would investigate Fauci. He promised to determine whether it would be possible to bring Fauci to Alabama, put him on trial and “see if we can put this man in prison.”
In addition, Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier announced at the end of July that he was launching an investigation. Uthmeier wrote that “Fauci’s lack of candor before Congress was unbelievable” and that it was long overdue to uncover the truth about the COVID-19 pandemic. “If he lied, and it resulted in physical and economic harm to countless Americans, billions of taxpayer dollars in ‘medical expenses’, and learning loss for our next generation, there should be accountability,” Uthmeier explained.
The decisions by the three states followed a Senate hearing at which Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a key architect of US COVID-19 policies, was due to give evidence on his controversial decisions and public statements. However, Fauci refused to answer the senators’ questions, invoking the Fifth Amendment, under which no one is required to give evidence that might incriminate them.
In light of the states’ plans, it is worth noting that on his final day in office President Joe Biden granted Fauci a full and unconditional pardon for any offences he may have committed or been involved in by virtue of his office from 1 January 2014 to 19 January 2025. This pardon protects Fauci from federal prosecution but not from state prosecutors. He could still face charges if a breach of state law is established. At the same time, legal experts note that the statute of limitations for some state charges may already have expired.
For the time being, according to Senator Rand Paul, Fauci faces a possible charge of contempt of Congress for invoking the Fifth Amendment when refusing to answer questions before a Senate committee. “It’s against the law to obstruct a congressional investigation. There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify,” Paul told Fauci.
Apple Challenges UK Over iCloud Backdoor Demand
Apple has challenged the UK government’s latest attempt to create a so-called backdoor to access users’ encrypted data after the UK Home Office demanded that Apple grant access to users’ encrypted iCloud data, according to Reuters.
The UK had previously made the same demand, seeking a backdoor that would have granted access to the data of both British and US customers. It withdrew this demand last year following several months of negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s administration. However, the British authorities subsequently issued a new ‘technical capability notice’ to Apple, which excluded US users but still required a backdoor for British users.
Apple filed a claim with the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which has the authority to investigate allegations that UK intelligence services have acted unlawfully. According to media reports, the aim of the lawsuit is to challenge the UK government’s authority to issue ‘technical capability notices’ under the Investigatory Powers Act. This is a law that obliges companies to provide information to law enforcement agencies concerning, amongst other things, terrorism and child sexual abuse. To this end, companies may be required to grant access to customer data even if the information is encrypted.
Apple has confirmed that it has filed the lawsuit but has declined to provide further details. Previously the company has stated that it has never created a backdoor in its services and never will.
A spokesperson for the UK government explained that the government does not comment on legal proceedings and neither confirms nor denies individual reports. The spokesperson added that the UK supports strong encryption and robust privacy protection, “but it is also vital that law enforcement can access communications when necessary and proportionate to protect the public from terrorism, serious crime, and child sexual abuse.”
California Democrats Back Tax on Billionaires
Thee California Democratic Party’s executive committee narrowly voted in favour of Proposition 40, which would impose a one-off 5 per cent wealth tax on the assets of the state’s approximately 200 billionaires. If the November referendum also passes, those who were California residents on 1 January 2026 with a net worth of $1 billion (€867 million) or more will have to pay five cents for every dollar of taxable net worth to Sacramento, with payments due in 2027, reports Politico.
According to the explanatory notes for Proposition 40, the one-off 5 per cent tax would apply to taxpayers and trusts whose assets exceed $1 billion (€867 million) and California’s ultra-wealthy would have the option to defer payment for five years. Assets include companies, securities, works of art, collections and intellectual property. The only exceptions are real estate, pensions and retirement accounts. 90 per cent of the tax revenue is planned for healthcare and 10 per cent for food aid or education.
The initiative is led by the large healthcare workers’ union, Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which estimates the tax would raise $100 billion (€86.7 billion). The union says the money would help offset cuts to federal healthcare funding, with some funds also going to education and food aid.
Progressive lawmakers such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna have previously backed the measure. Sanders has expressed firm support for a 5 per cent wealth tax on the 200 billionaires whose combined wealth totals about $2 trillion (€1.73 trillion). “This is a model that should be emulated throughout the country, which is why I will soon be introducing a national wealth tax on billionaires,” wrote Sanders. He argues that in a democratic society “we cannot continue to tolerate a rigged economy in which 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck - struggling to pay for housing, food and health care while the top 1% now owns more wealth than the bottom 93%. We must not continue a trend in which, over the past 50 years, $79 trillion (€68.5 trillion) in wealth in our country has been redistributed from the bottom 90% to the top 1%.”
Opposed to the measure are Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, the California Teachers Association, the California Professional Firefighters Association, the California branches of Planned Parenthood and many others. They argue the tax would have undesirable consequences. For example, it is likely to prompt the ultra-wealthy to move their assets out of the state. The tax would also harm the state’s budget, economy and future. It is noteworthy that Governor Gavin Newsom also opposes the ultra-wealthy tax. But at the same time, he advocates a federal tax on billionaires, which he calls the ‘modern-day Buffett Rule’, under which the ‘elite’ would pay at least the same tax rate as everyone else. With a national tax, no one would be able to flee to avoid paying within the US.
Many of California’s famous billionaires seem to have already taken steps to move assets or residency out of the state. For example, reports say Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been actively buying property in Florida. Some had already begun acquiring properties outside California even before the proposal was tabled last October, reportedly such as Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir; venture capitalist Keith Rabois; Amazon’s Jeff Bezos; and Oracle’s Larry Ellison.