{
  "id": 225208,
  "title": "US Senate panel votes to hold Fauci in contempt over COVID hearing",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/us-senate-panel-votes-to-hold-fauci-in-contempt-over-covid-hearing",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-06T13:40:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News AU",
    "slug": "abc-news-au",
    "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/anthony-fauci-in-contempt-of-congress-over-covid-hearing/107006930"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A US Senate committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress over his refusal to answer questions about COVID-19 at a hearing. Dr. Fauci cited fear of potential criminal charges due to Republican efforts to \"get me behind bars\" as his reason for invoking the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during the hearing. The committee has now referred Dr. Fauci to the US Attorney's Office in Washington, which will decide whether to investigate or prosecute him for contempt. Dr. Fauci's pardon from former President Joe Biden, valid from 2014 to January 2025, does not protect him from state-level prosecutions or investigations into any testimony he gave that politicians deemed false. Senator Rand Paul, the Republican committee chairman, stated that the constitutional privilege did not apply to Dr. Fauci, but Dr. Fauci maintained that he feared criminal charges given Senator Paul's determination to provoke an incriminating response. Senator Paul, who has previously referred Dr. Fauci to the Justice Department on his own, acknowledged that contempt resolutions typically pass through the full Senate but decided against moving the matter to a full Senate vote. Instead, he will send the referral to the committee for a recommendation.",
  "summary": "Dr Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times when he appeared before the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs last week.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour Health",
        "title": "WATCH LIVE: Sen. Paul holds contempt vote after Fauci invokes 5th Amendment",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/watch-live-sen-paul-holds-contempt-vote-after-fauci-invokes-5th",
        "published": "2026-08-05T23:45:23.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Jerusalem Post",
        "title": "Senate panel obtains Fauci’s COVID-era iPhone records as contempt vote approaches - report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/senate-panel-obtains-faucis-covid-era-iphone-records-as-contempt-vote",
        "published": "2026-08-06T11:30:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Live Mint",
        "title": "US Senate panel votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress over Covid hearing testimony",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/us-senate-panel-votes-to-hold-anthony-fauci-in-contempt-of-congress",
        "published": "2026-08-06T13:52:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after bombastic COVID hearing",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/senate-committee-votes-to-hold-fauci-in-contempt-of-congress-after",
        "published": "2026-08-06T14:14:34.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}