A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress as Florida subpoenaed the former federal health official and other states examined whether his pandemic-era conduct could support state charges.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the contempt resolution along party lines on August 6. The panel’s chairman, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) said he plans to send the referral directly to the Justice Department rather than wait for a full Senate vote.
Paul argued that Fauci’s sweeping 2025 pardon eliminated any risk of federal prosecution for conduct it covered and that Fauci waived any remaining privilege by delivering an opening statement.
“I ordered him to answer and warned him about contempt, yet he still refused. That is obstruction of a congressional investigation,” Paul said before the vote.
Fauci invoked the Fifth more than 100 times
Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination throughout a July 29 hearing on COVID-19’s origins, federally funded risky life sciences research and his government service. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, he declined to answer each of Paul’s 15 questions. Paul said Thursday that Fauci invoked the privilege 111 times in all.
The pardon from former President Joe Biden covers potential federal offenses from January 1, 2014, through January 19, 2025, related to Fauci’s government service. It does not shield him from state investigations or potential state charges.
The committee resolution would authorize the president of the Senate to certify a report to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. The committee vote is not a criminal charge. Federal prosecutors would decide whether to seek an indictment.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan), the committee’s ranking member, argued that the full Senate must approve the referral and warned that punishing a witness for invoking the Fifth Amendment could weaken future congressional investigations.
“A Committee vote to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in criminal contempt of Congress will not provide the Committee with additional information from Dr. Fauci, and it will cause both immediate and long-term damage to this Committee and Congress’s oversight powers,” Peters wrote Wednesday.
Florida subpoenas Fauci
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) announced August 5 that his office had subpoenaed Fauci for records dating to January 3, 2020. Uthmeier said he was working with West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey (R) and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R).
The civil investigation seeks documents involving awards, professional opportunities, financial incentives, grants and COVID-19 guidance that affected Florida businesses and consumers. The subpoena also seeks communications about vaccine manufacturers, efficacy, boosters, natural immunity and potential adverse events.
“Government officials have a certain level of immunity in their official capacities, but if Fauci personally profited off of the ‘guidance’ he issued, that very well could have broken Florida law,” Uthmeier said in a release.
Louisiana has separately joined a multistate investigation to determine whether Fauci’s conduct could amount to offenses state prosecutors could charge. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) also directed his office to review possible fraud or conspiracy violations. Alabama has participated in a broader coalition seeking evidence that could support state action.
The state inquiries and Florida subpoena do not constitute criminal charges. No state had charged Fauci as of the morning of August 6.
Provided by Dallas Express
