Dr. Anthony Fauci’s appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week quickly stalled when, in his opening statement, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. He was noticeably nervous, visibly shaking, and devoid of the arrogance he previously brought to congressional hearings.
The smug expression that accompanied Fauci in his public appearances was supplanted by a trembling stare. Earlier in the week, Fauci’s diary was released to the public, having inexplicably been found on a federal government server.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., chairman of the committee, said at the hearing that the contents of the diary did not align with Fauci’s previous congressional testimony or his public direction to the American people regarding gain-of-function research funding, the efficacy of masks, the likelihood of a Wuhan lab leak causing the outbreak, and more. The “revelatory cringe” of the diary further revealed Fauci’s humiliating hubris while the nation was locked down, loved ones died alone, kids “learned” from home, people lost their careers, and businesses shuttered during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Ultimately, we learned nothing new at the hearing. But what persists is whether Fauci’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment was proper, especially given his pardon from President Biden. Fauci’s pardon reads:
FOR ANY OFFENSES against the United States which he may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon arising from or in any manner related to his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID], as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House COVID-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.
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