What is equally baffling is that the House informed the administration that it was presumptively in violation of federal law. What followed were convoluted and confusing statements from the administration on a very simple question: Did Becerra appoint these directors?

It got even stranger on June 19 when HHS sent Congress documents titled “Ratification of Prior Selection and Prospective Appointment: Appointment Affidavit.” While signed by Becerra, the documents were dated on June 8 and June 15. They were specifically “prospective appointments” but seemed to suggest some form of retroactive ratification. That, too, is not allowed under federal law. In the case of Fauci and another director, according to the House committee, there is not even a retroactive affidavit to that effect.

Given the seemingly evasive response from HHS, it does appear that more than a dozen officials, including Fauci, may have been operating under a type of assumed official identity. If that turns out to be the case, Fauci may have had no legal authority after Dec. 12, 2021, to do even the most mundane tasks as a director.

[It’s an interesting issue, but it’s not clear what consequences would result. They eventually did get appointed back to those posts, and could therefore argue that any policies they implemented in their Walking Dead phase were ‘sanctified’ by their reappointment. Most of the policies in question would likely have been emergency measures, and Joe Biden rescinded the emergency under pressure two months ago. If any remaining policies are still in effect, people could sue to reverse any punitive measures that came from violations, but … that’s probably it, and even that’s a question mark at best. — Ed]