Senate committee votes to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt

A Senate committee voted along party lines Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. Fauci served as the chief medical adviser to both Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 8-5 vote stemmed from Fauci’s refusal to answer questions on his handling of the pandemic during a fiery hearing last week. He invoked the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination more than 100 times. The Senate committee is now expected to refer Fauci to the Justice Department for potential prosecution for his refusal to answer questions.

Ahead of the vote, Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., vowed to refer the matter to the department if the committee approved it. Fauci can’t refuse answers as he was issued a sweeping federal pardon from former President Joe Biden, Paul said during the hearing. Fauci should face consequences for his refusal, Paul added.

How has Fauci responded? Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, called the vote a political stunt. It represented Paul’s personal vendetta against Fauci, Schertler told NBC News. Paul has sought to weaponize the Justice Department against Fauci, Schertler added.

Fauci declined to answer questions last week over concerns that Republicans would use any testimony he gave to prosecute him.

What did lawmakers say during the vote? Democrats unsuccessfully called for votes to table the contempt resolution from Paul several times. A passage of the resolution would create a damaging precedent, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., argued during the vote. It could prevent future witnesses from appearing before Congress for fear of punishment over invoking a constitutional protection.

But Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., contended that he asked Fauci good-faith questions last week. For instance, Hawley asked him about the color of his tie, but Fauci still invoked the Fifth Amendment.

Dig deeper: Listen to Harrison Watters’ report for The World and Everything in It on Fauci’s hearing last week.