Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment, declines to testify in Republican-led COVID-19 Senate hearing
Anthony Fauci on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators in a Republican-led committee
Anthony Fauci on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators in a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision, at least for now, shielded Mr. Fauci from answering questions that could expose him to accusations of lying under oath. Though he received a pardon in early 2025 from Democratic President Joe Biden, some Republicans pursuing a yearslong campaign for his arrest had suggested he could still face charges for any perjury committed during Wednesday's hearing. The scientist, who helped lead the nation's COVID-19 response, was subpoenaed to testify under oath by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has long had an antagonistic relationship with Mr. Fauci. In response to angry, sometimes mocking, questions from Republican senators, Mr. Fauci declined to answer more than 100 times, injecting new drama into partisan divides that have festered for years about the origins and handling of the pandemic. Fauci himself has become a polarizing figure, even receiving death threats that prompted him to seek security. In his opening statement, Mr. Fauci said Mr. Paul has an “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.” “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.” Mr. Fauci said, adding that while it pained him to do so, he was following his attorney's advice by taking the Fifth. Republicans accuse Fauci of lying while Democrats say he didn't deserve that In the combative hearing, Mr. Paul and other Republicans accused Mr. Fauci of lying in earlier testimony about the origins of the coronavirus, something the longtime Institutes of Health scientist has forcefully denied.
Democrats called the hearing a politically motivated attempt at entrapping Mr. Fauci and praised the scientist for his work during the pandemic. With Mr. Fauci declining to answer questions throughout, Mr. Paul dominated the approximately three-hour hearing, listing a litany of accusations and detailed questions. “Today will be the capstone to Anthony Fauci's 40 years of abuse of power at NIH,” Mr. Paul said. “History will judge, but the facts as we now know them paint a sordid tale of dishonesty, misjudgment and ultimately the hubris, the likes of which the world has never seen.” In one heated moment of the hearing, Mr. Paul ejected Mr. Fauci attorney David Schertler from the room after he tried to speak without being recognized. In a statement, Mr. Schertler said the removal was “outrageous and demonstrates the completely biased and baseless nature of this proceeding.” In another statement, he called Mr. Paul's accusations about Mr. Fauci “false and disgraceful.” Democratic senators praised Mr. Fauci and said he didn't deserve the treatment he was getting. “This hearing is designed to entrap you,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. Paul has long argued Mr. Fauci should be criminally investigated based on his belief that the scientist was dishonest in previous testimony to Congress. The senator announced late in the hearing that the committee would vote next week on whether to hold Mr. Fauci in contempt for declining to answer questions. He did not say whether he would push for a criminal contempt referral to federal prosecutors or another charge. He also raised questions about whether Mr. Fauci's pardon affects his eligibility for Fifth Amendment protections. Paul released some of Fauci's diary Leading up to the hearing, Mr. Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Mr. Fauci's personal diary covering the pandemic years.
The BriefWire