Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate Covid Hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer questions by lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday morning on his role in the spread of Covid in 2020.“On the advice of counsel I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases responded to every question asked of him.Dr. Fauci was called to answer questions about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming in an opening statement that the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Rand Paul, has an “unhinged obsession” with him.“It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify today, ” Dr. Paul warned Dr. Fauci after repeated invocations of the right against self-incrimination.Dr. Paul also had Dr. Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, escorted out of the hearing after he sat at the witness table and tried to speak. Dr. Paul said he was not recognized by the committee.“I certainly understand why you needed a pardon,” Senator Ron Johnson said. Dr. Fauci also refused to answer Mr. Johnson’s questions about his decisions to not recommend some antivirals. Calling the vaccine an “experimental gene therapy,” he said that Dr. Fauci failed to follow safety surveillance systems for monitoring adverse reactions to drugs used to treat Covid. Mr. Johnson said Dr. Fauci suppressed those results and countervailing health information that may have countered the prevailing narrative on treatments, and he accused him of “sabotaging” the use of generic drugs like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine in order to get emergency use authorizations for new and untested pharmaceuticals.The hearing came out days after Dr. Paul released hundreds of pages of Dr. Fauci’s pandemic-era diary entries. The entries show Dr. Fauci reflecting on his celebrity status during the pandemic and affirming that the Wuhan wet market blamed for Covid’s origins was an “amplifier” but not the source of the disease.Democrats on the committee sought to protect Dr. Fauci and deflect blame onto President Trump. “It is unfortunate that you have been put in the position that you are in today. And it must be enormously frustrating to know that this hearing is designed to entrap you,” Senator Maggie Hassan said.Calling the Trump administration’s health care policy “a campaign against science and facts,” Senator Richard Blumenthal called it a shame that a “dedicated public servant like Dr. Fauci has faced persistent threats to his life since the pandemic because of the lies told about him.”Mr. Blumenthal added that Dr. Paul’s questioning of Dr. Fauci’s role in the pandemic is part of a “yearslong public crusade” and called Wednesday’s hearing a “show trial.” He said a reckoning of the period is “an insult to the memory of more than one million Americans who died of Covid-19.” “In no courtroom in America can you have your witness plead the Fifth Amendment and then your attorney gets to testify,” Dr. Paul said after Mr. Blumenthal finished speaking.Senator Rick Scott told Dr. Fauci that he was a villain to many Floridians. “You made yourself the story and abandoned the American people to serve your own ego,” Mr. Scott said, referencing Dr. Fauci’s diary entries about his media appearances during the pandemic.Mr. Scott also blamed Dr. Fauci for creating confusion over vaccines and haphazard or even conflicting recommendations on stopping the spread. He recalled how this information forced families to isolate and left people having to watch loved ones die over the phone. “We have entire generations of Americans who, rightfully so, do not trust our institutions to keep people safe because of you,” he said. “You caused this.”“Nothing says honesty like taking the Fifth,” Senator Josh Hawley said before asking Dr. Fauci what day of the week it was and a series of simple questions about colors in the room. Each time, Dr. Fauci read his prepared statement that he would not answer the question.“You don’t have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you have been pardoned, as you very well know,” Mr. Hawley countered.“But I think I know why you are doing it. It’s because you don’t want to answer questions. It’s because you did all kinds of terrible things,” Mr. Hawley added.

Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate Covid Hearing

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