Senate votes to refer Fauci for contempt after Fifth Amendment claim
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on August 5 in Washington, D. C. to refer Dr. Anthony Fauci for criminal contempt after he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege during a hearing on COVID-19 origins, according to AP News.
Senator Rand Paul had earlier made public more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s 2019-2022 diary, which detailed his meetings with officials, media and celebrities during the pandemic, as reported by Fox News. The diary excerpts were used to frame a sharply contested hearing where Fauci declined to answer questions, citing the Fifth Amendment, a development noted by NBC News. The committee’s publication of the diary in late July was also covered by CBS News.