Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 15 times during a Senate hearing Wednesday, refusing to answer questions about the origins of COVID-19, federally funded coronavirus research and his role in the government’s pandemic response.
The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after Chairman U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) subpoenaed him.
Fauci gave an opening statement but declined to answer each of Paul’s 15 questions, Reuters reported.
Fauci accuses Paul of targeting him
Fauci accused Paul of an “obvious obsession” with seeking criminal charges against him and said the chairman wanted testimony that could support a future 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, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said. “Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion.”
Fauci said he had testified before or briefed congressional committees more than 200 times during his nearly four decades leading NIAID. He then repeatedly answered Paul with the same statement: “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.”
Paul warns of repercussions
Paul rejected Fauci’s assertion of privilege. He argued that former President Joe Biden’s pardon protected Fauci from federal prosecution for covered conduct through January 19, 2025, while any false testimony at Wednesday’s hearing could create a new perjury case.
“The committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against you for the failure to testify after being directed to do so,” Paul said. “It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today.”
Paul has repeatedly accused Fauci of misleading Congress about whether the National Institutes of Health funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China. Fauci has denied lying to Congress and has maintained that the research did not meet the federal government’s regulatory definition of gain-of-function research.
Fauci’s attorney removed
Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, tried to address committee members after Paul concluded his questioning. Paul repeatedly ruled that Schertler was not recognized to speak and then ordered Capitol Police to remove him from the hearing room.
Schertler later told reporters that Fauci “has a valid Fifth Amendment privilege, and he has the right to assert it.”
Democrats defend Fauci
Ranking Member U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan) criticized the hearing and warned that targeting Fauci could discourage other scientific experts from entering public service.
“It’s tempting to turn one person into the scapegoat for a crisis that hundreds of officials across both the Trump and the Biden administration were responsible for handling,” Peters said.
Biden pardon hangs over hearing
Biden granted Fauci a broad preemptive pardon during his final hours in office. The pardon covers any federal offenses Fauci may have committed from January 1, 2014, through January 19, 2025, related to his government service.
Fauci said at the time that he had committed no crime. Paul has argued that the pardon does not cover later conduct, including any false statements made after Biden left office.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Paul pressed the Justice Department in 2025 to investigate Fauci’s truthfulness before Congress and raised questions about the pardon.
Wednesday’s hearing ended without Fauci answering any substantive questions.
Provided by Dallas Express
