A committee chaired by Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress on Thursday morning.
The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted 8 to 7 to hold Fauci in contempt of the body, with all Republicans voting “aye” and all Democrats voting “nay.”
“A subpoena is not an invitation. A subpoena with no consequences is not a subpoena, it’s a suggestion. Seeking the truth is not a witch hunt. Accountability is not vengence. Accountability is what stands between the American people and a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past,” Paul said at the Thursday hearing.
Paul said that votes to hold witnesses in contempt should be rare, but that it was Congress’s Constitutional duty to apply oversight to the executive branch, especially when a witness is issued a sweeping pardon.
Democrats on the committee conceded an investigation into past mistakes was necessary, but said the investigation had focused too much on one individual. Paul countered that not a single Democrat on the committee had used its internal software to review the investigation’s documents.
“If the investigation seems one sided, it’s because one side simply doesn’t want to look at the truth,” Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said.
Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters — the committee’s ranking member — disputed this claim, saying that his party had never received notice of the committee’s internal website.
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times at a July 29 Senate in response to questions ranging from the serious to the absurd. Though compelled to testify under a subpoena, Fauci stonewalled questions about whether he lied under oath about gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China the relationship between the National Institutes of Health and the intelligence community, and his history of championing high-risk virology research.
“Documents tell only part of the story. Many of these questions can be answered only by Dr. Fauci,” Paul said.
He even refused to answer when asked whether he had a red folder in front of him, what day of the week it was, and the color of his tie.
“On advice of counsel I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” Fauci said more than 100 times in response to Paul’s questions.
The public heath official received a “full and unconditional pardon” for any crimes he committed from a period stretching from Jan. 1, 2014, to the date of the pardon, Jan. 19, 2026, Biden’s penultimate day in office.
A resolution released by Paul on Tuesday states that “Paul found the privilege of the Fifth Amendment unsupported” as Fauci invoked his rights against self-incrimination for a period of time for which he has received a pardon. The resolution also argues that Fauci forfeited his right to invoke the Fifth Amendment by giving a brief opening statement condemning the Paul’s investigation at the hearing.
Democrats delayed the vote with several motions to table the resolution, which sparked a detailed legal discussion about the ability of a congressional witness to invoke the Fifth Amendment with a sweeping federal pardon.
Peters unsuccessfully sought to table the resolution over concern that the resolution would not receive a vote on the Senate floor before being referred to a U.S. Attorney for presentation to a grand jury. Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan then attempted to table the resolution until legal experts could weigh in on Fauci’s use of the Fifth Amendment. Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal sought to table the resolution until the committee could hear from Fauci’s attorney, saying Fauci had a reasonable fear of criminal prosecution given that Paul has called for Fauci to be put in jail.
Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley disputed that, saying that Fauci’s indiscriminate invocations of the Fifth Amendment about the color of the carpet and other frivolous questions was an abuse of the privilege. Blumenthal also sought to table the resolution until Fauci could receive a legal guarantee from the Department of Justice he would not be prosecuted. Paul countered that these resolutions were aimed at avoiding accountability for Fauci. All of those votes failed.
(DCNF)
