Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate hearing

Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday during Senate questioning about the origins of Covid-19, saying lawyers had advised him not to answer and that the hearing was intended to damage him.

Fauci, the former top US infectious disease official, appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs after being subpoenaed by Republican Senator Rand Paul, who chairs the committee.

Paul has accused Fauci of directing funding for research in China that triggered the spread of Covid-19 and of lying to Congress. Fauci has repeatedly denied the accusations.

Fauci said Paul's purpose was to get him to say something that could support Paul's public pledges that he should end up "behind bars." He said it pained him to invoke the constitutional right not to answer questions to avoid self-incrimination.

Fauci, 85, said he had testified before Congress more than 200 times over nearly four decades and believed in legitimate congressional oversight.

Paul had released thousands of pages of Fauci's unredacted personal diary before the hearing. During the session, Paul told Fauci that "there will be repercussions" for invoking the Fifth Amendment. When Fauci's lawyer, David Schertler, attempted to speak for him, Paul ordered him removed from the room.

Several Democratic senators criticised the proceedings. Gary Peters accused Paul of trying to relitigate the issue to support a predetermined conclusion, Maggie Hassan said the hearing was designed to entrap Fauci, and Richard Blumenthal called it a "vendetta" and a "show trial."

Former president Joe Biden gave Fauci a preemptive pardon on January 19, 2025, covering actions taken before that date. US President Donald Trump also commented on Truth Social, saying Fauci's ideas in the early days of the pandemic were "CRAZY!"