Senate Committee Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt

A Senate committee has decided to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment a staggering 111 times during hearings about the origins of the coronavirus. In related developments, the Department of Health and Human Services has turned over business records from Fauci’s iPhone along with state subpoenas originating from Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana as part of an investigation led by Senator Rand Paul.

On Friday, Fauci declined a request to voluntarily testify before another Senate committee, which has stirred up new questions in a Republican investigation into his management of the coronavirus pandemic. The request, made by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who is the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, was denied on the basis that compelling Fauci to appear again after his controversial testimony on July 29 would amount to “inexcusable harassment and defamation” for political motives.

Johnson is pursuing an independent inquiry into Fauci and the federal government’s overall response to the pandemic, including how safe and effective the coronavirus vaccines are. Interestingly, last week, Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines to charge Fauci with contempt, citing his repeated invocation of the Fifth Amendment during a previous hearing.

Chairman Paul is looking to bypass the need for a full Senate vote and instead send a contempt reference straight to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. He has indicated that they have a solid legal argument to present to the Department of Justice regarding this matter.

However, there’s some ambiguity around the effectiveness of this strategy. It raises the question: can Fauci continue to invoke the Fifth Amendment after he was granted a preemptive pardon by former President Joe Biden just before leaving office? Paul argues that Biden’s pardon removed any risks of federal prosecution for Fauci, thus challenging his rationale for refusing to answer questions. Fauci and his legal team, on the other hand, contest that view.

Paul has long scrutinized Fauci’s involvement in the government response to the coronavirus, even accusing him of financially supporting “dangerous” research that supposedly led to a lab leak in China. He continues to advocate for Fauci’s prosecution.

The subcommittee chaired by Johnson has also procured records regarding Fauci and the governmental response to the pandemic. It’s been confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services provided a copy of Fauci’s pandemic-related cell phone records to the subcommittee. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security received over 1,000 pages from Fauci’s personal diary prior to the July hearing.

As the situation develops, it’s unclear whether Johnson’s office will opt for a subpoena against Fauci following his refusal to appear. Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson’s office for clarity on this and to Paul’s office for any responses concerning Fauci’s compliance with a potential subpoena.