Senate panel obtains Fauci’s COVID-era iPhone records as contempt vote approaches - report

A U.S. Senate committee investigating the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic has acquired copied material from an iPhone previously used by Dr. Anthony Fauci. The data transfer from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, could offer lawmakers further insights into Fauci's conduct while leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The acquisition of the iPhone data occurs as the committee prepares to vote on holding Fauci in contempt of Congress. This action follows recent disclosures, including the transfer of Fauci's pandemic-era journals to Congress, which were subsequently made public. Republican Senators Rand Paul and Ron Johnson have intensified their efforts to obtain information from Fauci regarding pandemic health measures, federally supported research, and the virus's origins.

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Paul, who chairs the committee, released the contempt resolution on Tuesday.

Dr. Fauci has faced mounting pressure from these lawmakers, who have also received millions of additional pages of Fauci-related material from government servers. The situation has escalated to the point where at least four Republican-led states have initiated their own investigations involving Fauci. During a recent committee appearance, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to over 100 questions, accusing Senator Paul of an "unhinged obsession" and attempting to elicit statements for his own political agenda.

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He accused Paul of having an “unhinged obsession” with him and said the senator was attempting to elicit statements that could support Paul’s previous calls for him to be imprisoned.