Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress

The Senate Homeland Security Committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. The panel, led by Republican Sen. Rand Paul, made the decision Thursday, citing Fauci's refusal to answer questions during a hearing last week. Paul argued that Fauci inappropriately invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

"Holding a witness in contempt is a serious thing, and it should be rare," Paul stated as the committee gathered. "But the contempt power exists for precisely this circumstance." The GOP-led committee voted 8 to 5 to approve the resolution. All Democrats opposed the measure, with two additional votes against by proxy.

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Holding a witness in contempt is a serious thing, and it should be rare. But the contempt power exists for precisely this circumstance.

Fauci had invoked the Fifth Amendment in response to every question posed during the hearing, which was part of the committee's investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Paul, who has accused Fauci of misleading the public about the pandemic's source, released over 1,000 pages of Fauci's journal entries prior to the hearing. Fauci, in his opening statement, claimed Paul's actions were driven by an "obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution."

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The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he 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, quote, 'behind bars.'

While the Fifth Amendment protects individuals from self-incrimination, Paul contends that Fauci could not invoke it because he is protected by a Biden-era pardon. Fauci's attorney maintains that his client had "solid legal ground" for asserting his privilege. Paul, however, argues this is an unsettled legal question. The committee's focus, he stressed, was not on Fauci's opinions or policies, but on whether a witness, who received a federal pardon, could defy a committee order to answer questions without consequence.

Instead of proceeding to a Senate floor vote, Paul announced his intention to send the contempt resolution directly to the Justice Department as a referral. The committee's resolution states that the president of the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, would certify the contempt.

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We only have one question: Whether to hold a witness responsible for his contempt toward Congress. The witness had many chances to answer the questions pertinent to our investigation, and he made his decision 111 times.