for three hours wednesday, the senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee tried to get anthony fauci to answer questions about covid’s origins. he answered essentially none of them and the fight over why has now escalated into a scheduled contempt of congress vote.
What Actually Happened at the Hearing
anthony fauci, who led the nation’s covid-19 response and has since retired from government service, appeared wednesday under congressional subpoena before the committee chaired by republican senator rand paul of kentucky. the fauci fifth amendment rand paul contempt clash began almost immediately, when fauci opened by reading a prepared statement announcing he would invoke his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination for the duration of the hearing.
he then did exactly that more than 100 separate times, according to multiple outlets present, declining to answer every question paul and other senators put to him, including questions about “dangerous” research paul says the government funded in china and gain-of-function research paul alleges was conducted on monkeypox at fort detrick, an army installation in maryland.
The Pardon at the Center of the Standoff
the core legal dispute driving the fauci fifth amendment rand paul contempt fight is a technicality involving a pardon.
in the final hours of his presidency, joe biden issued preemptive pardons to fauci and several others, intended to shield them from what biden characterized as potential politically motivated prosecutions.
fauci’s legal team’s position, according to reporting, is that the pardon covers past conduct but does not protect him from a future perjury charge based on new statements he might make under oath today meaning if he answered questions and republicans later determined an answer was false or incomplete, he could theoretically be prosecuted for that new statement, entirely separate from anything the pardon already covers.
paul rejected that reasoning directly, telling reporters after the hearing: “we believe that with his liability, his immunity from criminal liability, that he didn’t need to hide behind the fifth amendment, and that maybe the fifth amendment doesn’t attach when you have a pardon in place.” he added that fauci “can admit to anything” without legal risk “the only thing he can’t do is lie again.”
legal experts see it differently. former federal prosecutor jessica roth noted that anyone can assert their fifth amendment right if they reasonably believe their testimony could be used to build a future prosecution and given paul’s own public statements about wanting fauci prosecuted, roth said fauci could reasonably anticipate exactly that outcome.
The Lawyer’s Ejection
one of the more dramatic moments of the fauci fifth amendment rand paul contempt hearing came when fauci’s own attorney attempted to interject on his client’s behalf. paul refused to recognize him, telling him directly “you are not recognized,” and the lawyer was subsequently ejected from the hearing room.
What Fauci Said About Paul’s Motives
fauci did not stay silent during the hearing he used his opening statement to directly confront what he described as the real purpose behind it.
he accused paul of an “unhinged obsession with me,” stating: “the only conclusion i can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that i end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote.”
democratic senator maggie hassan of new hampshire offered fauci a degree of public sympathy during the hearing, telling him: “it must be enormously frustrating to know that this hearing is designed to entrap you.”
not every republican on the committee was unsympathetic to fauci’s legal strategy, either though senator ron johnson of wisconsin told fauci he wasn’t surprised by the fifth amendment invocations, saying “i think it would be almost impossible for you to answer the questions truthfully without really demonstrating what you did.”
What Happens Next
the fauci fifth amendment rand paul contempt dispute now moves to a formal committee vote. paul confirmed the senate homeland security committee will vote on a contempt of congress resolution at a business meeting scheduled for 10am on august 5.
if the committee votes in favor, the resolution proceeds to the full senate for a vote. if the full senate approves it, the matter is then referred to the department of justice, which would have to independently decide whether to actually pursue contempt charges against fauci.
Fauci Fifth Amendment Rand Paul Contempt The Bottom Line
a former government scientist, already covered by a presidential pardon, chose to plead the fifth more than 100 times rather than risk a new perjury exposure his lawyer physically removed for trying to object, and the chairman running the hearing openly stating his goal is to see fauci “behind bars.”
the underlying legal question whether a pardon for past conduct removes the fifth amendment protection for testimony about that same conduct going forward has no settled, universally agreed answer, and it’s the exact question a contempt of congress vote next week won’t actually resolve.
follow this blog for updates as the contempt vote and any resulting DOJ decision develop.
