'America's most damaging bureaucrat': Ted Cruz unloads on Fauci after dramatic Senate hearing
WASHINGTON, DC: Sen Ted Cruz escalated calls for Anthony Fauci to face criminal prosecution after the former White House medical adviser invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during a Senate hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic on Wednesday.
The dramatic hearing quickly shifted from Fauci's refusal to answer questions to renewed Republican demands for legal accountability. Democrats, meanwhile, argued the hours-long questioning crossed the line into public humiliation.
Ted Cruz demands criminal charges against Fauci
Cruz became one of the first lawmakers to openly call for criminal charges after Fauci repeatedly declined to answer questions before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he appeared under a subpoena issued by Chairman Rand Paul.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Thursday, July 30, the Texas Republican said Fauci's repeated reliance on the Fifth Amendment would define his legacy.
"Dr Fauci ought to think about what it says about the end of his career, that what he will be remembered for the most is pleading the Fifth more than 100 times," Cruz said.
He then sharpened his criticism, calling Fauci "the most damaging bureaucrat in the history of America."
"He should be held in contempt [of Congress], he should be prosecuted for perjury, and he should go to jail," Cruz added.
Fauci declined to provide testimony about decisions made during the federal COVID-19 response or his role in funding pathogen research in China, where the outbreak originated.
Although former President Joe Biden issued him a broad pardon covering 11 years of activities, Fauci still exercised his constitutional right against self-incrimination, angering Republican lawmakers.
Cruz revives criticism of Fauci's Covid response
Cruz also accused Fauci of misleading both Congress and the public during the pandemic, citing what he described as entries from Fauci's diary.
"I think Anthony Fauci has had contempt for Congress and contempt for the American people for decades," Cruz said.
He alleged Fauci "deliberately lied to the American people over and over and over again," claiming the diary showed Fauci privately believed COVID-19 did not originate from a Wuhan wet market before publicly saying otherwise.
Cruz further claimed Fauci wrote that he had persuaded Democratic leaders in New York and California to close schools before later denying he supported shutdowns.
"The school shutdowns, which Fauci bragged that he was responsible for, may well be the single most destructive public policy step we've seen in decades," Cruz said. "That learning loss will stick with those kids the rest of their lives. When they're 90 years old, they will still be suffering the consequences of Anthony Fauci's corrupt and dishonest shutdowns."
John Fetterman says hearing went too far
Not every lawmaker agreed with the tone of the hearing.
Sen John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who sits on Paul's committee, said Fauci should be held accountable but argued Republicans pushed the hearing beyond that objective.
"I do think it's entirely appropriate to really hold Fauci accountable, but I don't think it's really appropriate to pound an 85-year-old man ... just to try to humiliate the guy," Fetterman said during an appearance on NewsNation's ‘Cuomo.’
He questioned whether the repeated questioning served any practical purpose, asking, "Is it really necessary to force the dude to say, 'Fifth, Fifth, Fifth' 111 times?"
