Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a tense Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Wednesday, refusing to answer more than 100 questions from Republican lawmakers.
Keep reading to know more.
The 85-year-old former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who became the public face of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, declined to answer questions throughout the nearly three-hour hearing on the advice of his attorneys.
The hearing was led by Committee Chair Rand Paul, a longtime critic of Fauci.
Ahead of the hearing, Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s private writings and diary entries, saying he intended to question him about the origins of COVID-19 and the federal government’s early pandemic response.
Fauci says hearing was politically motivated
The proceedings quickly became heated after Fauci delivered an opening statement accusing Paul of using the hearing to pursue a political agenda.
“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something—anything—that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said.
“Although it pains me to do so… under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.”
Throughout the hearing, Fauci repeatedly responded to questions with the same statement.
“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer,” he said dozens of times as Republican senators questioned him about federal funding for research in Wuhan, mask guidance, and COVID-19 vaccines.
The hearing grew more contentious after Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, attempted to make a legal objection without being recognized by the committee.
Rand Paul ordered Capitol Police to remove Schertler from the hearing room.
Afterward, Schertler criticized the proceedings, calling them a “baseless, biased farce.”
Meanwhile, Democratic members of the committee defended Fauci, describing the hearing as a “political witch hunt” and “backward-looking attempt to entrap a public servant.”
Debate erupts over Fauci’s Fifth Amendment claim
Fauci’s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment also sparked debate among lawmakers because he received a presidential pardon from former President Joe Biden before leaving office in early 2025.
Republican senators argued that the pardon eliminated his ability to invoke Fifth Amendment protections regarding past federal actions.
“You don’t have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you’ve been pardoned, as you very well know,” Josh Hawley said during the hearing.
“This is about contempt—contempt for this body and contempt for the American people.”
Legal experts have noted, however, that a federal pardon does not shield someone from potential state-level criminal charges or from possible perjury charges if they provide false testimony under oath.
Following the hearing, Rand Paul announced that the committee plans to vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions.
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