Politics
Dr. Anthony Fauci refrained from answering a slew of questions at his hearing.
Aug. 6 2026, Updated 10:05 a.m. ET
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Dr. Anthony Fauci is in hot water after he refused to answer numerous questions about the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic at his July 29 Senate hearing.
On Thursday, August 6, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-5 to hold him in contempt of Congress after he plead the Fifth a whopping 111 times.
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The Senate voted 8-5 to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.
Before the vote, committee Chairman Rand Paul stated, “We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence.”
The next step is for the committee to pass it along to the Justice Department or request Senate Majority Leader John Thune hold a full Senate vote.
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Why Did Dr. Anthony Fauci Plead the Fifth?
Dr. Anthony Fauci plead the fifth over 100 times to avoid self-incrimination.
The medical expert, 85, invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination, as he believes Republicans are trying to prosecute him.
“Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress,” Fauci said at the hearing. “Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.”
He felt Paul would try “to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote.”
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Rand Paul noted that Joe Biden’s pardon to Dr. Anthony Fauci does not protect him.
Paul noted that Joe Biden‘s 2025 pardon to Fauci doesn’t protect him from the matter.
“Dr. Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution,” Paul said. “All he had to do was tell the truth.”
As OK! reported, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was seen looking frustrated hours after the July hearing, as he appeared to curse while ranting to his wife, Christine Grady, near their Washington, D.C., home.
Donald Trump Weighs In
The president admitted he’s ‘never been a fan of Fauci.’
Though Donald Trump previously awarded Fauci with a Presidential Commendation in 2021, he won’t be giving him any help in recent matters..
“Well look, I’ve never been a big fan of Fauci. Why he did that was very simple — his lawyer told him to,” the POTUS told a reporter of Fauci pleading the fifth. “O don’t know if he would’ve been better off not doing it. There were a lot of questions I guess he could’ve answered, and some maybe he didn’t feel comfortable in answering. But [his] lawyer told him to do that.”
