Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on Wednesday, refusing to answer questions about COVID-19 origins during a heated Senate hearing. Fauci also accused Senator Rand Paul of an "unhinged obsession" with him, stating that Paul's aim was to find anything that could justify his public calls for Fauci to be "behind bars."
"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution," Fauci repeatedly told the Kentucky Republican.
In his opening statement, Fauci detailed his criticisms of Paul, citing the senator's "repeated slanderous comments" and the recent public release of Fauci's personal diaries. Fauci suggested that Paul's intent in calling him to testify was to elicit a statement that would vindicate his previous pledges to see Fauci prosecuted.
The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who also served as chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, had achieved significant public recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had previously published excerpts from Fauci's diaries. The senator claimed these passages revealed Fauci's "love for the newfound fame COVID brought him," including an anecdote about a conversation with Barbra Streisand regarding mRNA vaccines and Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant. According to Paul, Fauci detailed explaining the technology to Streisand and later "butt called" her, only to find she had intended to call him to discuss the differences between the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
Fauci's refusal to answer questions and his strong remarks about Senator Paul marked a contentious moment in the ongoing scrutiny of the U.S. government's response to the pandemic.