Dr. Anthony Fauci could face criminal prosecution after refusing to answer questions at Senate hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' director who was the face of the U.S. medical community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, refused to answer more than 100 questions Wednesday when he appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.  Fauci could now face criminal prosecution for refusing to answer. 

During the hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times, and declined to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

RELATED: Dr. Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment 111 times, declines to testify at Senate hearing on COVID-19

What they're saying:

In his opening statement, Fauci said Paul has an "obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution."

"The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this Committee is to prompt me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,’" Fauci said, adding that while it pains him to do so, he is following his attorney’s advice by taking the Fifth.

Sen. Rand Paul to schedule committee vote hold Fauci in contempt of Congress

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he will schedule a committee vote next week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times.

At the hearing, Paul warned Fauci there would be "repercussions" to his decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment at the Senate hearing.

Paul issued the warning after concluding his questioning of the former health official.

"The chairman has denied your assertion of privilege and directed you to answer, but you nonetheless refuse and stand on privilege despite the existence of the pardon," Paul said. "The committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against your for the failure to testify after being directed to do so."

"It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress," Paul said. "There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today."

Paul, who has long argued that Fauci should be criminally investigated, based on his belief that the scientist was dishonest in previous testimony to Congress, announced that the committee will vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt for declining to answer questions.

What is contempt of Congress?

Dig deeper:

Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of Congress and happens when a person refuses to obey a lawful congressional subpoena to provide documents, appear at a hearing or answer questions at a hearing.

A committee approves a citation, and then the full House or Senate votes on it, and it would need a 60-vote majority in the Senate. If passed, it goes to the Department of Justice for an indictment which would need to be approved by a grand jury.  

During the Trump administration, grand jury panels have refused to sign off on charges in multiple politically charged cases, so the grand jury indictment may be an uphill battle.

If Fauci is indicted, it’s likely that his lawyers will argue he cannot face contempt charges for ​exercising his right ⁠under the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment to refuse to answer questions that could expose him to criminal liability since former President Joe Biden pardoned Fauci for any offenses he may have committed from 2014 until January 2025.

The backstory:

Fauci, whose nearly 40 years as the head of NIAID stretch back to the early years of the AIDS epidemic, was subpoenaed to testify before the committee. Sen. Rand Paul explained when announcing the subpoena that it had been issued after Fauci backed out of an agreement to appear voluntarily.

As the day of the testimony drew near, Paul released hundreds of pages from Fauci’s personal diary that the doctor’s critics allege show his personal infatuation with his newfound celebrity and repeated instances where they say his views expressed in the diary clashed with his contemporaneous public statements, including on the origins of the virus and the effectiveness of recommended precautions.

U.S.Politics