Dr Anthony Fauci refused to answer questions at a high-profile Senate committee hearing on the origins of Covid-19 and accused the Republican senator leading questioning of having an “unhinged obsession” with him.
Fauci, the veteran former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid), served as a key adviser to Donald Trump and Joe Biden during the Covid-19 pandemic. The hearing was called by Republican Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who has investigated Fauci for years.
Fauci said Paul’s goal was “embarrassing and intimidating me”, and ultimately landing him “behind bars”.
“Therefore, although it pains me to do so, because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades-long record of co-operating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys I will invoke my right under the fifth amendment of the constitution to refrain from answering your questions,” Fauci said in his opening statement.
Paul, frustrated, later told reporters that he would hold a vote to hold Fauci in contempt of US Congress next week, and described the question of whether the fifth amendment could shield him as “a question for the courts”.
Fauci (85), served under seven US presidents and through numerous health crises, including the HIV crisis, Ebola outbreaks and the first coronavirus outbreak, called Sars-CoV-1. He became a household name overnight when the Covid-19 pandemic halted social life in 2020.
Quickly after opening statements, the hearing became a back-and-forth between Paul and Fauci. Paul grew visibly agitated as Fauci refused to answer, threatened the scientists with “repercussions”, and then tossed one of Fauci’s attorneys from the hearing room.
“Did the [National Institutes of Health] ever fund gain-of-function [research] on monkey pox?” Paul asked, in reference to research that manipulates viruses to make them more effective to shed light on how outbreaks happen.
“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment of the constitution,” said Fauci.
After another description of research Paul found unacceptable: “Dr Fauci, did the NIH ever conduct research for or in co-ordination with any element of the intelligence community, CIA, [Office of the Director of National Intelligence]?”
Fauci responded: “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment of the constitution.”
Paul pressed on: “Dr Fauci, would you at least like to answer this one question for us today, and let us know whether or not you have changed your mind on whether or not the benefits of gain-of-function [research] outweigh the risks?”
Fauci replied: “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment of the constitution.”
A visibly frustrated Paul soon scolded Fauci: “There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today.”
Soon, an attorney for Fauci attempted to join him at the table, and Paul demanded the attorney move.
“This is not a game with his lawyers,” said Paul, to the attorney who was apparently trying to speak, but could not be heard for lack of a microphone. “The attorneys were not recognised.”
“There’s a row behind you, sir,” said Paul. “This is the way Anthony Fauci wants to be remembered – for a lawyer not recognising the rules ... Security please remove him from the room,” Paul said. The attorney patted Fauci on the shoulder and voluntarily left, alongside a guard.
Members of the audience, which conspicuously included rightwing media figure Laura Ingraham, applauded.
In part, Paul’s frustration at the hearing stemmed from a presidential pardon Fauci received from Biden, which in turn implicates the fifth amendment.
There is debate among experts about how far the fifth amendment extends. Some argue that once a person accepts a presidential pardon, they cannot invoke the fifth amendment for federal crimes.
Without that right, Congress could hold a witness in contempt, which can lead to fines or – in the extreme – jail time. Others have argued that the right extends as long as there is a valid threat of prosecution, particularly by states.
“You don’t have any rights under the fifth amendment,” claimed Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, in a line of accusatory questioning. “This is about contempt – contempt for this body, and contempt for the American people.”
Democrats, meanwhile, defended Fauci. Paul is “single-mindedly fixated on seeing Dr Fauci prosecuted for imaginary crimes, and you are so invested in that outcome you have created a personal brand around it”, Fauci’s attorneys argued in a statement read aloud by the Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut.
In advance of the hearing, Republicans characterised their work as investigating “the origins of Covid-19 and risky taxpayer-funded life science research”, while scientists have characterised the investigation as “vilification and harassment” of Fauci, who led Niaid for 38 years before retiring in 2022. – Guardian
