Senate panel holds Dr. Fauci in contempt of Congress after COVID-19 hearing

A US Senate committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. The vote, which was along party lines, was a result of Dr. Fauci invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a hearing on COVID-19. According to Free Malaysia Today, Dr. Fauci's lawyers advised him to invoke this right to prevent self-incrimination under questioning from Republican senators.

The hearing, led by Republican senator Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, focused on Dr. Fauci's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times during his testimony, MyJoyOnline Ghana reported. The committee will now refer the case to the Justice Department for potential prosecution.

Dr. Fauci had been subpoenaed to testify before the committee, but he refused to answer questions, citing his constitutional right. Rand Paul stated that the committee was voting on whether Dr. Fauci could be ordered to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence, MyJoyOnline Ghana reported.

Brief written by urgent.news from CBS News, Free Malaysia Today, MyJoyOnline Ghana, BBC World, Live Mint — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — read the original for the full account.