Senate Committee Votes to Hold Fauci in Contempt of Congress

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress and refer the matter to the Justice Department for possible prosecution after he refused to answer questions during a hearing on the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved the referral one week after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times while testifying before the panel.

Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., argued that Fauci's constitutional protection against self-incrimination did not apply because former President Joe Biden granted him a pardon last year covering federal acts from 2014 through January 2025.

"Dr. Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution," Paul said. "All he had to do was tell the truth."

Paul said the vote was not about Fauci's pandemic policies or previous testimony but about whether a witness who had received a broad pardon could refuse to answer questions after being ordered to do so by the committee.

Fauci defended his decision in a statement, saying he had reason to fear criminal charges because of what he described as Paul's repeated public efforts to have him prosecuted.

The committee's referral now goes to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, which will determine whether to investigate or pursue contempt charges.

The proceedings followed the release last week of Fauci’s personal diaries, which detailed his private thoughts on the origin of the COVID virus.

The diaries were released by Paul after they were retrieved from government computer servers.

Though Fauci has long stated he believed the virus jumped from animals to humans, he privately speculated the virus may have, in fact, been leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — where coronaviruses were being studied and modified.

Now that we’re more than six years from the start of the pandemic, many Americans believe the virus leaked from the lab and that Fauci helped cover it up since his agency helped fund the research.

Many Americans are also resentful about consequences that came from the handling of the pandemic — including being coerced into taking the COVID vaccine, children’s education being set back due to school closures, numerous small businesses failing, and a decline in mental health for millions.