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Fifth Amendment in Senate
Retired immunologist Anthony Fauci, 85, invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators during a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based on my rights under the Fifth Amendment.”
Fauci told the committee, “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based on my rights under the Fifth Amendment.”
The hearing was led by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has been critical of Fauci’s record during the pandemic and subpoenaed him to testify under oath.
Fauci said it “pains” him to invoke the Fifth Amendment, but he feared Paul might twist his words to seek a criminal prosecution, and he said he was following his attorney’s advice.
In the same hearing, Paul said the committee is planning a vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress.
Paul, Hawley, and Schertler
Senator Rand Paul used the hearing to press accusations about Fauci’s past testimony, and he sought to build the case that Fauci helped cause the COVID-19 pandemic by approving funding for research on virus mutations and then covered up his complicity.
Paul said, “I hope today Dr Fauci will come clean, admit it was a mistake to fund research in China,” and the Washington Post described senators growing heated as Fauci repeatedly pleaded the Fifth.
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri mocked Fauci during the exchange, saying, “Well, nothing says honesty like taking the Fifth, huh, doc?”
Fauci’s lawyer David Schertler alleged that Paul was fixated on Fauci, saying, “The accusations that Chairman Paul continues to propagate are false and disgraceful, and we will examine all options to hold him accountable,” and the Washington Post reported Paul ejected Schertler from the room after he tried to speak without being recognized.
Democrats praised Fauci as a hero and thanked him for his work fighting infectious diseases, while AP reported that the decision, at least for now, shielded Fauci from answering questions that could expose him to accusations of lying under oath.
Pardon, contempt, and fallout
The hearing unfolded after Fauci received a presidential pardon from Democratic President Joe Biden, and AP said some Republicans pursuing a yearslong campaign for his arrest had suggested he could still face charges for any perjury committed during Wednesday’s hearing.
“some Republicans pursuing a yearslong campaign for his arrest had suggested he could still face charges”
AP reported that Fauci declined to answer more than 100 times, injecting new drama into partisan divides about COVID-19’s origins and handling, and it said Paul announced the committee will vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt for declining to answer questions.
NPR described how Paul released over 1,000 pages of Fauci’s private diary entries about his daily life between December 2019 and 2022, accusing him of covering up the origins of COVID-19, and it quoted Fauci’s letter that called Paul’s campaign a “years-long public crusade.”
NPR also quoted Fauci’s own statement from the hearing, “Although it pains me to do so, because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government,” as he said he would invoke his right under the Fifth Amendment to refrain from answering questions.
In the immediate aftermath, the Washington Post said Paul acknowledged legal questions about whether Fauci could be held in contempt of Congress, citing Biden’s preemptive pardon, while AP reported the hearing’s outcome at least for now shielded Fauci from potentially self-incriminating answers.
