Dr. Anthony Fauci arrived on Capitol Hill under subpoena Wednesday and almost immediately stopped answering questions.
The former face of America’s COVID response repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment as Sen. Rand Paul pressed him over pandemic-era decisions, NIH-funded research and the still-disputed origins of the virus.
The hearing grew even more tense when video circulating online appeared to show Fauci’s attorney being removed after interrupting during Paul’s questioning.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee he would not answer questions because he believed Republicans were trying to expose him to criminal prosecution.
In a lengthy opening statement, Fauci accused Paul of dragging him before the committee for political reasons.
“The sole reason (Sen. Paul) 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, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said.
He continued: “His obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution has compelled me to conclude that this proceeding is nothing more than a politically motivated effort to trap me into making statements that could later be twisted or distorted into a basis for criminal charges.”
Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has battled Fauci for years over COVID origins and government-funded research, did not back down.
As questioning began, Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment rather than answer questions about the National Institutes of Health, U.S.-funded research and decisions made during the pandemic.
At one point, Paul highlighted just how far Fauci’s refusal to answer had gone.
“Let the record reflect that the witness has refused to answer whether there’s a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right.”
The exchange was a political earthquake for a man who spent the pandemic demanding that Americans trust federal health officials without hesitation.
In one tense moment, Paul kicked Fauci’s lead attorney out of the hearing, later remarking, “Let the record state that Dr. Fauci will still have the advice of the other half-a-dozen attorneys he brought along today.”
Hellbound and Down 