Anthony Fauci declines second Senate hearing after invoking Fifth Amendment over 100 times

WASHINGTON, DC: Dr Anthony Fauci turned down a request to appear before another Senate committee investigating how the federal government handled the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision gives Republicans in Congress a new avenue for probing the former top public health official, as a possible contempt referral stemming from his July hearing heads to the Justice Department.

Fauci’s attorney responded to Sen Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who leads the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, saying that forcing Fauci to testify again, especially after the heated July 29 hearing, would amount to political harassment.

Johnson is conducting his own investigation into Fauci and the government's handling of Covid-19, including questions about vaccine safety and effectiveness.

Fauci faces contempt after repeated Fifth Amendment invocations

An attorney for Fauci rejected the request from Sen Ron Johnson, arguing that compelling Fauci to testify again after his contentious July 29 Senate hearing would "impermissibly harass or degrade Dr Fauci for political purposes."

The refusal comes after Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines last week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during the July hearing.

Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky, has sought to send the contempt referral directly to the US Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia, bypassing a full Senate vote.

"It’s a good legal discussion, and we will make those legal points to DOJ in sending the referral over," Paul told Fox News Digital ahead of last week’s contempt vote.

At issue is whether Fauci can invoke the Fifth Amendment after former President Joe Biden issued him a preemptive pardon before leaving office.

Paul has argued that the pardon removed Fauci's risk of federal prosecution and therefore eliminated his basis for refusing to answer lawmakers' questions. Fauci and his legal team have disputed that interpretation.

Senate probes uncover extensive Anthony Fauci records

Paul has spent years investigating Fauci’s role in the government’s response to Covid-19 and has accused the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director of funding "risky" research that led to an alleged lab leak of the Covid-19 virus in China.

Paul has repeatedly called for Fauci to be prosecuted.

Johnson’s subcommittee has separately obtained records related to Fauci and the government’s pandemic response. Fox News Digital previously confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services sent the subcommittee a copy of Fauci’s pandemic-era cellphone.

The broader Homeland Security panel also received more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s personal diary before his July hearing.