The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will consider a contempt resolution after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 80 times and refused to answer questions about the federal COVID-19 response.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced Wednesday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will vote next week on whether to hold former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions during a subpoenaed hearing.
Fauci appeared before the committee Wednesday morning to testify about his role in the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in his opening statement and continued relying on that protection throughout the hearing, declining to answer more than 80 questions, according to Paul.
The Kentucky senator argued that Fauci’s reliance on the Fifth Amendment was unsupported because former President Joe Biden granted him a broad preemptive pardon covering federal offenses arising from actions taken before the pardon was issued. Paul maintained that the pardon removed the threat of prosecution for the conduct under examination and therefore weakened Fauci’s stated basis for refusing to testify.
“Because you refuse to answer citing a privilege that is unsupported because of your pardon and after being denied to do so, this committee has scheduled to vote next week on a resolution certifying your contempt,” Paul told Fauci.
Fauci served as NIAID director from 1984 through 2022 and became one of the country’s most visible public health officials during the pandemic. He appeared frequently on television and advised the public and federal officials on masking, social distancing, business restrictions, vaccination and other measures intended to slow the spread of the virus.
Those policies remain the subject of intense political and congressional scrutiny because of their effects on schools, businesses, medical care and daily life. Paul and other critics have accused Fauci of misleading Congress and the public about federally funded research, the origins of COVID-19 and the government’s handling of the pandemic. Fauci has disputed allegations that he was responsible for causing the outbreak or that he intentionally deceived lawmakers.
After the hearing, Paul told reporters that the legal question raised by Fauci’s testimony may not have been directly resolved by the courts.
“This has probably never been tested legally. If you’ve been granted complete immunity…do you still need Fifth Amendment protections, or do they apply? All you had to do today was tell the truth!” Paul said.
Paul also argued that Fauci could have answered questions about the handling and possible destruction of government records without facing punishment for conduct covered by the pardon.
“If he testified and told the truth, even if he admitted to destroying thousands of records, which we think happened, there’s no penalty that attaches, it would just be the truth,” Paul said.
The committee’s planned vote would determine whether it formally certifies Fauci’s refusal to testify as contempt of Congress. Such a resolution would represent an escalation in the Senate’s effort to obtain answers from the former health official, although further action would depend on the outcome of the vote and any subsequent legal or congressional proceedings.
Paul framed the dispute as a question of whether a witness who has received broad immunity may still refuse to answer lawmakers’ questions about conduct covered by that protection. Fauci’s attorneys, however, advised him to invoke the Fifth Amendment, and his use of the constitutional protection does not by itself establish guilt or wrongdoing.
The committee is expected to take up the contempt resolution next week.
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