- Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7 along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after an intense hearing on July 29.
- During the hearing, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, having previously indicated he would do so on the advice of his lawyers to avoid new legal risks.
- Fauci's lawyer, David Schertler, described the contempt decision as a 'crude political stunt intended to punish Dr. Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights' and a continuation of Paul's 'vendetta' against his client.
- Rand Paul stated he wants the decision referred straight to the Department of Justice and questioned the need for a full Senate vote after the August recess.
- In his opening statement, Fauci claimed that Paul has an 'obsession with calling for my prosecution' and that the sole reason for the hearing was to get him to say something that could vindicate Paul's repeated public pledges that Fauci end up 'behind bars'.
- Republicans accused Fauci of being dishonest about the origins of Covid-19 during the hearing, with Paul claiming that what Fauci said in public was the 'complete opposite' of what he wrote in his diary.
Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7 along party lines to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment during a recent hearing. Fauci, the former chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had previously indicated he would invoke this right on the advice of his lawyers to avoid new legal risks.121112
Senator Rand Paul argued that Fauci had been “immune to prosecution” and had refused to comply with a subpoena, describing this as the “very definition of contempt.” During the hearing, Fauci claimed that Paul has an “obsession with calling for my prosecution,” suggesting that the hearing was a political maneuver aimed at vindicating Paul’s public pledges to see him “behind bars.”78
Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, criticized the committee's decision as a “crude political stunt” intended to punish Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights. He described the resolution as a continuation of Paul’s “vendetta” against Fauci, labeling the Republicans' actions as “shameful and wrong.” Paul also expressed intentions to refer the decision straight to the Department of Justice, indicating that there “might not be” a point to the Senate voting on the matter when it returns from August recess.
The committee's actions come amid accusations from Republicans that Fauci was dishonest about the origins of Covid-19, with Paul asserting that Fauci's public statements contradicted what he wrote in his diary.
“Fauci's lawyer David Schertler called the vote a 'crude political stunt' and a continuation of Rand Paul's 'vendetta.' Paul wants the decision referred straight to the Department of Justice, saying there 'might not be' a point to a full Senate vote after August recess.”
The Independent
