Key facts
- A Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.
- The vote was over Fauci's refusal to answer questions regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Senator Rand Paul stated he will refer Fauci to the Justice Department.
- Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination over 100 times during a hearing.
- Paul argued the Fifth Amendment protection was inapplicable due to a presidential pardon.
A Senate committee has voted along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vote sets up a potential referral to the Department of Justice for investigation.
Senator Rand Paul, the committee chairman, stated that Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution due to a pardon from President Biden, and therefore should have answered questions truthfully. Paul intends to send the referral directly to the Justice Department, bypassing a full Senate vote, though Democrats questioned the legal validity of this maneuver.
Fauci's lawyer, David Schertler, described the contempt resolution as a "continuation of Senator Paul's personal vendetta" and a "crude political stunt." He asserted that Fauci had committed no crime and that Paul was attempting to "weaponize the Justice Department."
Democrats on the committee unanimously opposed the contempt resolution, agreeing with Fauci that he had a legitimate fear of self-incrimination. Senator Maggie Hassan suggested that Republicans were trying to "trap" Fauci into making a misstatement that would not be covered by the pardon. Senator Gary Peters raised concerns that punishing a witness for invoking their Fifth Amendment rights would complicate future congressional oversight efforts.
Fauci had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a previous appearance before the committee, explaining that he feared criminal charges based on Paul's public statements about seeing him prosecuted.