Senate panel holds Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions

WASHINGTON, DC: A Senate Committee under the leadership of Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) voted in favour of holding a former health official Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer during the testimony before the committee last week. The committee argued that Fauci improperly invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

The vote marks a significant escalation in Republicans' investigations into the former COVID-19 response leader.

Fauci faces contempt of Congress for invoking Fifth Amendment

The GOP-led resolution to hold Fauci in contempt passed on Thursday, August 6, by a vote of 8 to 7 along party lines. Initially, the vote ratio stood at 8 to 5, but the final count was 8 to 7 after including two opposing Democratic votes submitted by proxy.

"Holding a witness in contempt is a serious thing, and it should be rare," Sen Rand Paul, the committee chairman, said as the panel gathered Thursday. "But the contempt power exists for precisely this circumstance."

“All he had to do was tell the truth,” Paul said as he opened the vote.

“There will be another pandemic. The time to determine which legislative reforms are necessary to make sure the mistakes of the past are not repeated is now, not later,” Paul added.

Traditionally, the resolution now needs to be cleared by the Senate floor, but Paul told CBS News that he intends to send the contempt resolution directly to the Justice Department as a referral. 

Why is Anthony Fauci facing contempt of Congress?

Last week, during Fauci’s testimony under subpoena as part of the panel's investigation into the origins of COVID-19, he invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to every question he was asked before the committee.

Notably, Fauci has been accused of misleading the public about the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ahead of the hearing, Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci's journal entries from his time leading the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci cited the release in his opening statement before the committee, claiming Paul has an "obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution."

Paul says Fauci couldn't assert Fifth Amendment

The Fifth Amendment right under the Constitution of America grants people the right not to incriminate themselves. However, Paul has argued that Fauci couldn't use this right because he is already insulated from prosecution by a Biden-era pardon.

Fauci's attorney told the outlet last week that Fauci had "solid legal ground" to use his Fifth Amendment privilege. But Paul argues it is an unsettled legal question.