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Fauci held in contempt
A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer lawmakers’ questions at a hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic last week.
“The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress along party lines in an 8-5 vote”
The vote was approved along party lines in an 8-5 decision, and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee cleared the way for the committee to ask the Justice Department to prosecute him.
Reuters reported that Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul asked the Justice Department to prosecute Fauci after the contempt vote, sending a referral after the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a contempt resolution.
At the hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, and the Senate committee’s contempt resolution accused him of failing to obey a congressional subpoena.
CBC News said Fauci, 85, invoked the Fifth Amendment after the longtime federal health official declined to answer questions about his guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quotes and legal fight
Fauci’s lawyers and Democrats criticized the contempt vote as politically motivated, with David Schertler saying the committee’s action was "a crude political stunt intended to punish Dr. Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights."
In contrast, Rand Paul argued that "Seeking the truth is not a witch hunt," and he said the committee was seeking accountability to prevent "a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past."
ABC7 Los Angeles reported that Paul said Fauci could not plead the Fifth Amendment because he was preemptively pardoned by President Joe Biden, while Democratic Sen. Gary Peters warned the vote sets a "damaging precedent" that could harm future investigations.
Reuters also reported that Democrats said Paul was violating Senate rules by skipping a full Senate referral vote, which they said would likely fail to achieve the necessary 60-vote majority.
CBC News added that Fauci said last week that the decision to not answer questions pained him, but that he was acting on the advice of his counsel.
What happens next
The contempt resolution is described as clearing the way for the committee to ask the Justice Department to prosecute Fauci, and Reuters said a Justice Department spokesperson confirmed copies of the referral had been sent to DOJ leadership and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C.
“Contempt of Congress, a federal misdemeanor, can be punished with a fine of up to $100,000 and up to 12 months in prison.”
Reuters reported that contempt of Congress is a federal misdemeanor that can be punished with a fine of up to $100,000 and up to 12 months in prison, and it said the Justice Department is reviewing the document.
The New York Times said the vote addressed whether Fauci failed to comply with a congressional subpoena, and it described the process as moving from committee action to a full Senate vote and then to the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia if approved.
NBC News said the Senate would be in session for votes before its August recess, with a scheduled session beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET and expected to leave town for a five-week recess after tomorrow.
In parallel, the Guardian reported that the ACLU said Trump’s new executive orders on birthright citizenship were "doomed to fail in court," quoting Cody Wofsy saying "Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution."
