NewzAnthony Fauci on Wednesday repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators in a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.The decision, at least for now, sidesteps calls for his prosecution if he is accused of lying at the hearing, part of a yearslong campaign for his arrest spearheaded by some Republicans in Congress. Though the now-retired infectious-disease expert received a presidential pardon from Democratic President Joe Biden, critics have suggested he could still face charges if he perjures himself under oath.In response to angry, sometimes mocking, questions from Republican senators, Fauci declined to answer more than 50 times, injecting new drama into partisan divides that have festered for years about the origins and handling of the pandemic.Fauci, who helped lead the nation’s COVID-19 response, has long been a target of those frustrations. But to his supporters he is an emblem of sound scientific expertise.The scientist had been subpoenaed to appear before the committee by Republican Sen.
Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has long had a fraught relationship with Fauci and led the charge seeking that he testify, again, under oath.In his opening statement, Fauci said Paul has an “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.”“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote.” Fauci said, adding that while it pains him to do so, he is following his attorney’s advice by taking the Fifth.Paul releases some of Fauci's diaryPaul on Wednesday sought to build the case that Fauci helped produce the COVID-19 pandemic by approving funding of research on virus mutations and then covered up his complicity.Democratic members of the committee said the hearing was a backward-looking and politically motivated attempt at entrapping Fauci, and they used it instead as a platform to criticize the Trump administration's healthcare policies.Leading up to the hearing, Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s personal diary covering the pandemic years. Pointing to some notes about early efforts at understanding how the virus emerged, Paul said on social media that what Fauci… Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) lobbed an expletive at Dr.
Anthony Fauci during a Senate hearing Wednesday on the origins of and government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the former White House chief medical adviser invoked his Fifth Amendment right. Moreno said he decided to run for office soon after learning that a woman... Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions from senators in a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic
President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are outraged after Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment before a Senate hearing on Wednesday. Anthony Fauci declined to answer more than 100 times, injecting new drama into partisan divides that have festered for years about the origins and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anthony Fauci, who led the nation's infectious disease efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday and declined to answer questions from a Senate committee investigating the origins of the coronavirus.Homeland Security Chair Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the committee will vote on a contempt resolution against Fauci next week.Why it matters: Fauci said Paul was trying to get him to say something that could put him in legal jeopardy. Paul said his use of the Fifth Amendment was "unsupported" since former President Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci before leaving office.Fauci argues he could be in trouble if he makes any statements that could open new lines of investigation for the committee.What he's saying: Paul has an "unhinged obsession with me," and his motive for the hearing is to "get me to say something — anything — that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote," Fauci said."Although it pains me to do so … under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions," Fauci said.The other side: "There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today," Paul warned Fauci.He said Fauci was citing "a privilege that is unsupported because of his blanket pardon."Sen.
Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) told Fauci he wasn't surprised the former top infectious disease expert was taking the Fifth: "I think it would be almost impossible for you to answer the questions truthfully without really demonstrating what you did."Paul asked Fauci about "dangerous" research he says the government funded in China (which Fauci has disputed in the past), as well as "gain-of-function" research Paul says was conducted on monkeypox at Fort Detrick, an Army installation in Frederick, Md.Fauci refused to answer the questions. The gain-of-function research has been a primary focus for those who believe COVID spread because of a lab leak.Paul also ordered Fauci's lawyer removed from the committee room for trying to speak.Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the hearing is part of a "campaign against science" that "has made this country less safe.""If there are valid scientific questions about the origins of this pandemic … they should certainly be addressed, but not in a show trial, not as part of a continuing…
Summary from source