Senator Rand Paul is advancing a motion for contempt of Congress against Dr. Anthony Fauci, citing Fauci's repeated invocation of the Fifth Amendment during a recent Senate hearing. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times when questioned about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul stated his intention to fast-track the referral, bypassing standard committee procedures if necessary, and then send it directly to the Department of Justice with a supporting legal brief.
"I think it’s less likely to pass on the floor. I think we can pass it out of committee," Paul said on Fox News' “America’s Newsroom.” He indicated that he believes the motion can pass out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, where he serves as chairman.
Contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor offense that carries a potential penalty of one to 12 months in prison and a $100,000 fine. Typically, a contempt citation must be approved by a committee and then by the full chamber. However, if the Senate is out of session, the Vice President, acting as the President of the Senate, can certify the citation.
Paul's efforts stem from long-standing accusations that Fauci made a false statement to Congress in May 2021. Paul claims that Fauci falsely stated that the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where Fauci formerly headed, had not funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fauci and his legal team have consistently denied these allegations, asserting that the research did not meet the definition of gain-of-function and that Fauci did not provide false testimony or engage in a cover-up.
During the recent hearing, Fauci's attorney was reportedly removed for attempting to speak on his behalf. Fauci, in his opening statement, criticized Paul for what he described as an "obvious obsession" with his prosecution and accused the committee of releasing a personal diary to intimidate him. Fauci stated that he believed the committee's sole purpose was to elicit a statement that would support Paul's calls for his imprisonment.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a member of the committee, drew a parallel to a previous case in the House where an IRS official was held in contempt for giving an opening statement and then invoking the Fifth Amendment, arguing that one cannot do both.
Paul has previously sought criminal referrals for Fauci under both the Biden and Trump administrations. Fauci's former senior adviser, David Morens, was indicted in May for allegedly concealing and destroying federal records related to a grant for coronavirus research in Wuhan. Intelligence agencies, including the CIA, Energy Department, and FBI, have largely concluded that an accidental lab leak is the most likely origin of the pandemic, though other agencies maintain a natural zoonotic spillover is more probable. Fauci has historically favored the latter theory, though some of his personal notes suggest he considered other possibilities regarding the virus's origins.
The final decision to prosecute Fauci for contempt of Congress would rest with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington D.C. The New York Post noted that attorneys for Fauci and representatives for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for comment.