A coward to the end.
Despite having immunity from prosecution, Anthony Fauci refused to answer questions today after appearing under subpoena before Congress. The former NIAID director accused Rand Paul of setting a perjury trap by forcing him to testify, which is itself an admission that should make Fauci's fans uncomfortable. In what NBC News describes as a "surprise move," Fauci took the Fifth:
Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer senators’ questions at a hearing Wednesday on the origins of Covid and the government’s handling of the pandemic, saying in prepared remarks that he would invoke his 5th Amendment right not to testify to avoid the possibility that Republicans could try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.
The surprise decision shook up the hearing, which was expected to be contentious given Fauci’s previous public clashes with Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky.
In his opening statement to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Fauci pointed to Paul’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me” and his decision to publicly release the doctor’s personal journal.
“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 that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said.
“Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion,” he continued. “Therefore, although it pains me to do so because of the respect that I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.”
That presents Paul and the Senate with an opportunity to pursue contempt charges. The Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination is not without boundaries. It applies when potential criminal liability exists, which – for most people, most of the time – is always present. In fact, it's a very good idea to stand on one's right to remain silent in most circumstances when hostile questioning takes place, at least until you get a good lawyer to figure out what the potential liabilities might be.
However, pardons create the rare exception to the use of the Fifth Amendment. Joe Biden granted a full pardon to Fauci shortly before leaving office for any federal crimes he may have committed during a ten-year period prior to 2025. That covers all of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then some. Fauci cannot be prosecuted or charged for any federal crimes that took place in that period, so he has no criminal liability in testifying. That puts Fauci in the rare position of being unable to refuse to testify under oath in any legitimate trial or hearing, including those in Congress.
Fauci claims that Paul is trying to spring a perjury trap on him today, but the Fifth Amendment cannot be used to avoid it, especially when a pardon exists. All Fauci has to do to avoid a perjury trap is to testify honestly. And as long as the questions focus on the period covered by the pardon, Fauci is required to testify.
Paul pointed this out last night:
On Tuesday, Paul responded to a reporter’s question about how he would respond to people who argue that the senator was trying to put Fauci in a position to perjure himself.
“There’s no risk to perjury if you tell the truth,” Paul said. “In fact, he can even admit to not telling the truth in the past. He can admit destroying records. He can admit to, you know not adequately presenting both sides of equations, which isn’t really a crime. He can admit to anything. The only thing he can’t do is lie again.”
Fauci can admit to any federal crime in testimony today. He can't be prosecuted for it at all. That's what Biden ensured by issuing the pre-emptive and comprehensive pardon in January 2025. Because of this, Fauci cannot hide behind the Fifth Amendment any longer and must respond to subpoenas and testify on these matters. If Rand Paul and the Senate chooses, they can pass a resolution finding Fauci in contempt of Congress and pass it along to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. That is, in fact, how Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro ended up in federal prison – by refusing to cooperate with Congress when subpoenaed.
And all of this highlights one burning question: What is Fauci still hiding?
The rest of this hearing will likely be a clown show. Just as I wrapped up writing this post, Paul ordered one of Fauci's attorneys to leave after attempting to provide his own ad hoc testimony to the hearing. The live stream is below, in case people want to see the bit where the car pulls up and all of the clowns pile in.
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