Former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a Senate hearing, drawing criticism from lawmakers who questioned his extensive use of the protection. Senators Josh Hawley and Rand Paul asserted that Fauci, due to a pardon, did not possess the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment, with Hawley arguing the actions demonstrated "contempt for this body and contempt for the American people."
Hawley, citing a Supreme Court case from 1896, Brown v. Walker, argued that a witness granted statutory immunity from prosecution could be compelled to testify, as immunity displaces the right to plead the Fifth. To test this, Hawley asked Fauci simple questions such as what day of the week it was and the color of his tie. Fauci declined to answer both, invoking the Fifth Amendment each time.
"You don't have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you've been pardoned, as you very well know," Hawley stated. He suggested Fauci's reluctance to answer stemmed from a desire to avoid questions about his actions during the pandemic. "It's because you did all kinds of terrible things. It's because during the pandemic, you got rich… while people were dying."
Senator Bernie Moreno also questioned Fauci's repeated invocations. When asked to recite the Fifth Amendment, Fauci again invoked his Fifth Amendment right on the advice of counsel. Moreno presented Fauci with a copy of the Constitution, but the former director continued to decline to answer, leading Moreno to quip, "So you're invoking a right that you don't know who wrote it or what it says?"
Fauci's attorney, David Schertler, was reportedly removed from the hearing after refusing to remain seated and quiet. A legal analysis discussed on Fox News suggested that while President Biden's pardon might protect Fauci from federal prosecution, it would not necessarily shield him from state prosecutions, future crimes, or congressional investigations, nor protect him from charges of perjury if he lied under oath.
The hearing focused on findings from a probe into Fauci and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci's repeated reliance on the Fifth Amendment, even for basic factual questions, became a central point of contention during the proceedings.