Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment More Than 100 Times During Senate Hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Rand Paul. During the combative hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, declining to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origins of the coronavirus. During the hearing, Fauci decried what he called Rand Paul’s “unhinged obsession with me.” Dr. Anthony Fauci: “Given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me, 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, quote, 'behind bars,' unquote.” After the hearing, Rand Paul announced the committee would vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt. Before leaving office, President Biden issued a preemptive pardon for Fauci, believing that Republicans would go after him after he left office. www.democracynow.org