Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a Senate hearing, prompting House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer to question the legal standing of a pardon issued by former President Joe Biden.
"If former President Biden’s blanket autopen pardon is valid, then Dr. Fauci has no right to refuse to answer questions," Comer said in a statement following the hearing. "Dr. Fauci clearly knows his autopen pardon is on legally questionable grounds and decided to protect himself today rather than provide the truth to the American people."
Fauci appeared before a Senate panel amid renewed scrutiny over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly following the release of a diary he kept during the crisis. The diary entries, made public by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., reportedly show Fauci reflecting on his pandemic-era fame and discussing the disease's origins, with some entries appearing to show him taking credit for influencing policies that led to school closures.
This contrasts with previous testimony Fauci gave to the House Oversight Committee in January 2024, when he stated, "I did not close the schools."
Comer had previously warned Fauci that the pardon, issued in the final hours of Biden's term, might not shield him from accountability for his testimony. The pardon covers offenses from January 1, 2014, through its issue date, or any offense related to his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President. However, because it covers conduct during his government service, debate is expected over whether it would protect him from liability stemming from his testimony.
Sen. Rand Paul indicated that his committee would vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress the following week. A contempt of Congress charge, if prosecuted and found guilty by the Department of Justice, could result in a fine of up to $100,000 and a prison sentence of up to one year. Fauci stated his decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment was due to what he described as Sen. Paul's "obvious obsession" with prosecuting him.