US Senate panel votes to hold top Covid expert Fauci in contempt
Anthony Fauci invoked his right to remain silent during questioning over unsubstantiated claims of a Covid-19 origins cover-up.
In a contentious move, a Republican-led US Senate committee voted to hold former top infectious diseases official Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress on Thursday. This decision underscores intensified efforts to implicate Fauci in potential Covid-19 pandemic missteps. Fauci, invoking his Fifth Amendment right, declined to answer during questioning, fearing self-incrimination.
Republican senators questioned him about unsubstantiated claims regarding the pandemic's origins, which Fauci maintains are false. The 85-year-old scientist, who spent decades as the nation's leading expert in infectious diseases, has been the subject of a subpoena from Republican senator Rand Paul. Prior to the hearing, Paul released thousands of pages of Fauci's personal diary.
Fauci's lawyers believed Paul's intentions were to trap him in a potential perjury trap, leading to his invocation of the Fifth Amendment. The Republican chairman of the committee, Paul, plans to send the panel's recommendation directly to the justice department, which can decide whether to pursue the case. Contempt resolutions typically require full Senate approval, and bypassing this step raises concerns about accusations of a politically motivated prosecution against perceived foes of President Donald Trump.
Democrats on the panel criticized the vote, with senator Gary Peters accusing Paul of a rushed investigation. They argue that the move could harm the Senate's capacity to conduct future investigations and disregard constitutional protections. The controversy centers around whether Fauci's watch over the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases led to the "gain-of-function" research in China, potentially triggering the spread of Covid-19.
Fauci denies these allegations, while Paul insists he is telling the truth. Over six years since the pandemic began, the debate over the virus's origin remains contentious, with Fauci maintaining it had natural origins, though open to the possibility of a lab leak. Republicans argue that Fauci is ineligible for Fifth Amendment protection due to a presidential pardon granted to him by former president Joe Biden for public service actions between 2014 and January 2025.
However, law scholars are divided on whether a presidential pardon overrides the scope of the Fifth Amendment.
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