Senate committee considers contempt vote against Dr. Anthony Fauci
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The Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee may vote to hold former health official Anthony Fauci in contempt after he invoked the Fifth Amendment during a hearing on the COVID-19 response.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is set to vote Thursday on whether to hold former health official Dr. Anthony Fauck in contempt of Congress. The move follows Fauck's refusal to answer lawmakers' questions in a recent hearing, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
In his opening remarks, Fauck said the committee chair, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, has "an unhinged obsession" with him and suggested the hearing was designed to trap him into lying under oath. He added that, "although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions."
Fauck noted that he had already addressed many of the committee's inquiries in prior testimony. The hearing comes after Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauck's private diary entries, alleging they showed uncertainty about the pandemic’s origins. Paul also reminded Fauck that he is immune from prosecution for actions taken before 2025, due to a presidential pardon, but that immunity does not extend to statements made after that date.
If the committee votes for contempt, the Justice Department will decide whether to pursue criminal charges, a step that has been taken in a handful of recent cases involving former officials.