Dr. Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in heated COVID-19 hearing
On Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, refusing to answer Republican questions over his involvement in the COVID-19 pandemic.
WASHINGTON —
Former top health official Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times in an hours-long Senate hearing led by Republicans on Wednesday.
“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” Fauci said repeatedly throughout the hearing.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., focused on allegations that Fauci helped fund lab research that led to the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans on the panel also alleged Fauci later attempted to mislead the American public on the origins of the virus and response.
“Publicly, Anthony Fauci promoted the theory that the virus arose naturally, while privately, he was well aware of a mountain of evidence suggesting the virus originated in the lab. The American people deserve answers,” Paul said. “The decision to fund dangerous gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, will likely go down in history as perhaps one of the worst public health decisions. Frankly, the American people deserve an apology.”
But many scientists continue to assert that the virus most likely emerged in nature, jumping from animals to humans and initially spreading from a wet market in Wuhan, China.
There is no new scientific evidence that supports claims that the virus leaked from a lab, as Paul has repeatedly suggested.
In 2024, a Republican-led subcommittee found no evidence linking Fauci to any wrongdoing.
“Unfortunately, I fear the intent of this hearing is only meant to further a purely partisan agenda. It will not make Americans safer,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the committee, said. “Another pandemic is all but inevitable. The question is whether Congress and this committee will work to better prepare our country for it or continue looking backward.”
Fauci also theorized on the intent behind the hearing.
“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason (Sen. Paul) is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, ‘behind bars,'” Fauci said. “Any reasonable person who followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion.”
Republicans, including Sen. Paul, have previously threatened criminal prosecution against Fauci over his handling of the pandemic. That prompted former President Joe Biden to issue a preemptive presidential pardon to Fauci, citing what Biden called at the time “potential revenge.”
The pardon, which covers actions Fauci took from 2014 to 2025, does not extend to state or local prosecution.
Legal experts also note that invoking the Fifth Amendment is not an admission of guilt but a Constitutional protection against self-incrimination, including potential prosecution for perjury.
The hearing also addressed the release of over 1,000 pages from Fauci’s personal diary, which were subpoenaed and made public by Sen. Paul ahead of the hearing.
Paul claimed the diary revealed “two different stories” Fauci told privately and publicly during the pandemic, including entries about his growing fame.
Fauci responded to the release, saying the excerpts were published to “embarrass and intimidate” him.
Watch more coverage on Dr. Fauci’s hearing before Senate lawmakers:
