A Senate committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for invoking his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times during a hearing on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and funding for gain-of-function research. The Senate Homeland Security Committee approved the contempt resolution in an 8-5 vote on Thursday.
The resolution, if certified by the Vice President, could send the case to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, for potential prosecution. A conviction for contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor that could result in up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
During the July 29 hearing, Dr. Fauci, the former director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), repeatedly refused to answer questions, citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination. Committee Chair Rand Paul, who brought the resolution, stated that Fauci faced no risk of prosecution if he had simply told the truth. According to Paul, Fauci asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege more than 100 times after the chair ruled that the assertion was unsupported and directed him to answer.
Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee, criticized the move, arguing that it would penalize witnesses for asserting constitutionally protected rights. Peters expressed concern that future witnesses might be deterred from appearing before Congress if they risk punishment for invoking the Fifth Amendment. He also noted that the chairman had suggested referring the matter to the Department of Justice without full Senate approval, which he deemed potentially more dangerous.
Earlier on Thursday, Sen. Ron Johnson indicated that the committee had obtained a copy of Fauci’s phone from the Department of Health and Human Services and requested an additional transcribed interview with the former NIAID head.
In his opening remarks prior to the hearing, Fauci had criticized Paul, accusing him of an “obvious obsession” and an attempt to imprison him.