WASHINGTON — A Senate committee voted on Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt for declining to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his past testimony to Congress regarding risky, US-funded “gain of function” research
The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted 8-5 along party lines to refer the former director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for potential prosecution after he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights 111 times last week.
The contempt resolution authorizes Vice President JD Vance, the president of the Senate, to certify the Homeland Security panel’s report on Fauci to DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
If convicted of a misdemeanor contempt charge, Fauci could face up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
In his opening remarks before the July 29 hearing, Fauci denounced committee chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for having an “obvious obsession” with him and trying to put him “behind bars.”
Paul and his fellow Republicans had planned to quiz the doc on sketchy experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, whether COVID-19 emerged from an accidental lab leak and the scientific basis for controversial pandemic mitigation policies.
By taking the Fifth, Fauci was unable to answer even mundane questions, including a query by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) about the color of his tie.
Republican senators argued that Fauci’s opening statement — and the pardon he received from then-President Joe Biden for any potential crimes committed between January 2014 and January 2025 — prevented him from being able to plead the Fifth.
“The assertion of a Fifth Amendment privilege only adheres to those instances where the witness has a reasonable fear of future prosecution, and it must be tailored to any such fear,” Hawley noted.
“Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution. All he had to do was tell the truth,” Paul claimed shortly before the vote. “More than 100 times, though, he refused.”
“The chair ruled that Doctor Fauci’s assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege was unsupported in light of the pardon and the testimony he offered in his opening statement. The chair directed Anthony Fauci to answer. He refused again,” he added.
Democrats on the panel submitted motions to table the contempt resolution — including another offer of immunity for Fauci against federal prosecution if he agreed to testify in full — but GOP members of the panel rejected each.
The opposition claimed that Fauci had reason to fear prosecution given Paul’s repeated requests that the Justice Department investigate the former White House COVID czar for lying to Congress in past testimony.
Three state attorney generals have also issued subpoenas to Fauci, and legal experts noted that any answers he gave to the Senate wouldn’t have shielded him from state charges — despite his federal pardon.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) chastised Paul and Republicans on the committee for seeking “to punish a witness for asserting their constitutional protected Fifth Amendment rights.”
“Future witnesses will argue that appearing before Congress exposes them to punishment, regardless of whether they comply with the subpoena and invoke a constitutional protection,” warned Peters, the top Democrat on the committee.
“The chairman has also suggested he may attempt to refer this matter to the Department of Justice without approval of the full Senate,” Peters added. “That would be even more dangerous.”
Earlier Thursday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) had indicated that the Homeland Security Committee had obtained a copy of Fauci’s phone from the Department of Health and Human Services — and requested an additional transcribed interview with the ex-NIAID head.
