Fauci Testimony: Rand Paul Threatens Contempt After Fauci Declines To Answer Questions

Key Facts

Read Fauci’s Entire Opening Statement

“Mr. Chairman, ranking personnel Peters, members of the committee. I served astatine the [National Institutes of Health] for complete 54 years, 38 of those arsenic head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Over that period, I proved that I judge in, and respect, the worth of morganatic legislature oversight. In fact, I testified before, and/or briefed, Senate and House committees good complete 200 times complete those 38 years. During and aft the COVID pandemic, I person appeared aggregate times for hearings successful the Senate and the House, usually nether oath, and sat for respective days-long transcribed sworn interviews, answering questions astir the very issues that are now the taxable of this hearing. However, fixed Sen. Paul’s evident obsession pinch calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments astir me, and recently, his publically releasing my unredacted individual diary, aimed astatine embarrassing and intimidating me, the only conclusion I tin scope is that the sole logic he is calling maine earlier this committee is to get maine to opportunity something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated nationalist pledges that I extremity up, successful his words, quote, down bars, unquote. Any reasonable personification who has followed his unhinged obsession pinch maine would readily travel to the aforesaid conclusion. Therefore, though it pains maine to do so, because of the respect I person for the legislative branch of government, and my decades-long grounds of cooperating pinch Congress, nether the proposal of my attorneys, I will invoke my correct nether the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions. Thank you.”

surprising fact

Paul ordered information to region 1 of Fauci’s lawyers from the room aft he attempted to speak pursuing Paul’s declare Fauci will beryllium taxable to “repercussions” for refusing to testify. The New York Times reported the lawyer was David Schertler, 1 of respective attorneys coming pinch Fauci. “You are being disruptive,” Paul said, adding, “Another connection and you’re gone,” earlier asking information to escort him from the room. “Let the grounds authorities that Dr. Fauci will still person the proposal of the different half-dozen attorneys that he brought on today,” Paul said.

Can Fauci Plead The Fifth After Being Pardoned?

Fauci was pardoned by erstwhile President Joe Biden soon earlier he near office, though Paul has based on the pardon will not protect him from immoderate imaginable perjury committed during his Senate testimony. Biden’s pardon of Fauci covers immoderate imaginable national offenses committed betwixt Jan. 1, 2014, and the day Biden issued the pardon, Jan. 19, 2025. Despite his statesmanlike pardon, immoderate ineligible scholars person said Fauci is still capable to plead his Fifth Amendment authorities because he whitethorn beryllium nether threat of prosecution, arsenic Paul has many times called for him to beryllium prosecuted. Richard Hughes IV, ineligible master astatine George Washington University, told The Atlantic that whether Fauci tin plead the Fifth comes down to whether he is nether a “realistic threat of prosecution,” which he said seems highly plausible. Randy Zelin, a criminal defense lawyer and adjunct professor astatine Cornell Law School, antecedently told Business Insider each anyone needs to plead the Fifth is “a reasonable apprehension of criminal prosecution,” saying moreover if personification is pardoned for imaginable national offenses, this does not preclude them from facing state-level charges.

Trump Slammed Fauci As ‘Crazy’ Ahead Of Hearing

President Donald Trump criticized Fauci’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic successful a post connected Truth Social, minutes earlier he began testifying. He said Fauci’s “ideas were CRAZY,” claiming he “overrode” Fauci connected Operation Warp Speed, the scheme to create COVID-19 vaccines. He besides alleged Fauci “strongly disagreed” pinch the mentation the microorganism came from a laboratory successful Wuhan, claiming Fauci was “always trying to protect China.” Trump said he “relied little and less” connected Fauci complete time, saying he made “too galore bad calls, for illustration connected MASKS,” accusing Fauci of being an anti-masker earlier becoming a “super-masker.” Trump claimed he warned Biden that Fauci “was nary good, either didn’t person a clue, aliases was dishonest,” but said Biden gave him “vast destructive power.” Some of Fauci’s diary entries were fiercely captious of Trump, whom Fauci described successful immoderate entries arsenic “out of control,” “a full embarrassment” and “incorrigible.”

key background

Paul released a trove of Fauci’s individual diary entries, mostly written while he was successful authorities work during the COVID-19 pandemic, past weekend. Paul alleged the diaries show what Fauci “wrote privately and what he told the state are 2 different stories.” Some of Fauci’s critics person pointed to alleged discrepancies betwixt Fauci’s nationalist statements and diary entries, including his declare successful 2022 that he had “nothing to do” pinch schoolhouse closures, while his diary entries opportunity he “convinced” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to adjacent schools successful 2020. Other critics person said Fauci’s diaries show he was reveling successful his abrupt fame during the pandemic, arsenic immoderate entries picture his interactions pinch celebrities and the various Fauci-themed merchandise group created—though successful 1 diary entry, he wrote of the merchandise: “Geeeez!! I do not for illustration this 1 bit.” Paul has agelong been a Fauci critic, and the 2 person sparred successful legislature hearings making love backmost to the early days of the pandemic.

further reading

Fauci Testifies Tomorrow: Here’s What We Learned From His Diaries (Forbes)