Anthony Fauci took the Fifth at a Senate Covid hearing, citing fears of prosecution as Republicans pressed him on pandemic comments and records.
Anthony Fauci took the Fifth at a Senate Covid hearing on Wednesday, refusing to answer lawmakers’ questions as Republicans pressed him on his past public comments and writings about the pandemic. The former top US health official said he feared his testimony could be used to prosecute him for perjury, turning a long-running fight over Covid origins into a fresh clash on Capitol Hill.
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, according to the hearing account, while noting that he had already testified about Covid and its origins at several earlier congressional sessions. The constitutional protection allows a person not to be compelled to incriminate himself in a criminal case. Fauci, who is eighty-five and previously led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said under advice from his lawyers that he would not answer questions despite the respect he said he has for the legislative branch.
Republicans have accused Fauci for years of hiding pandemic information from the public and misleading Americans about the virus’s dangers. Fauci has denied wrongdoing and previously dismissed the allegations as “simply preposterous” in testimony to lawmakers. He also said at the hearing that Senator Rand Paul, who chaired the session, had an “obvious obsession” with prosecuting him and that this was why he was declining to respond.
Paul kept questioning Fauci even after the refusal to answer, repeatedly urging him to apologize and saying the committee would vote next week on a contempt-of-Congress resolution. Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, tried to speak during the exchange and was removed from the room. Schertler later called that decision “outrageous” and said it showed the hearing was driven by a personal vendetta against Fauci.
“Anthony Fauci took the Fifth at a Senate Covid hearing, citing fears of prosecution as Republicans pressed him on pandemic comments and records.”
The fight over the Fauci Senate hearing also reopened the broader dispute over where Covid came from. Paul argued that Fauci may have privately believed the virus came from a lab even though he publicly supported a natural-origin theory. Fauci’s newly released pandemic diary entries show that he considered both a natural spillover and a lab leak early on, while later writing that he was almost certain the virus had evolved naturally, though he kept an open mind about a lab leak. The World Health Organization said last year that natural origin was the best-supported theory from available evidence, though it also said the question remained inconclusive without more information.
Former President Donald Trump weighed in during the hearing, calling Fauci “crazy” on social media and repeating his claim that the virus came from a Wuhan laboratory in China. Trump and Fauci clashed repeatedly during the pandemic, including over health guidance and unproven treatments. After the hearing, Florida’s Republican attorney general said he would open an investigation into Fauci, while several Democrats defended him, including Senator Maggie Hassan, who said the hearing was designed to trap him.
Fauci’s legal position is shaped in part by a pre-emptive pardon from former President Joe Biden, which shields him from federal prosecution for actions between 2014 and 2025, though not necessarily from anything after that or from state or local cases. He has also faced death threats during and after the coronavirus era, and Trump removed his security protection last year. The Fauci Senate hearing matters because the country is still wrestling with accountability, pandemic transparency, and how far lawmakers should go when the facts of Covid remain politically combustible.
For American readers, the lesson is plain: the battle over Covid is not over, and the fight over who told the truth still has real legal and political consequences.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Fauci refuse to answer questions at the hearing?
He said, on advice from his lawyers, that he feared his testimony could be used to prosecute him for perjury. He therefore invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly.
What were Republicans accusing Fauci of?
Republicans said he had hidden pandemic information and misled Americans about the virus’s dangers. They also pressed him over his past public comments and writings about Covid.
What did Fauci and his records say about Covid’s origins?
The article says Fauci’s diary entries show he initially considered both a natural spillover and a lab leak. He later wrote he was almost certain the virus had evolved naturally, though he kept an open mind about a lab leak.
What happened after Fauci refused to answer the senators?
Rand Paul said the committee would vote the next week on a contempt-of-Congress resolution. A conflict also broke out when Fauci’s lawyer was removed from the room, and Florida’s Republican attorney general said he would open an investigation into Fauci.
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