Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, refusing to testify Wednesday just minutes into a Capitol Hill hearing that Republicans outwardly hoped would undermine the scientist and open him to claims of perjury.

Background

Fauci cited what he characterized as the Republican chairman’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution” as his reason for refusing to speak. The move is sure to infuriate Fauci’s Republican critics, who will have been deprived of a public forum in which to relitigate his alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 response and conspiracies about the origins of the virus.

Fauci has previously appeared before lawmakers to deny, under oath, allegations brought by Sen. Rand Paul of obscuring the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and controversial infectious disease research. Pressure from Paul and others led President Joe Biden to preemptively pardon Fauci during his last days in office, shielding Fauci from charges pertaining to any comments made in previous years.

Recent Developments

Ahead of the hearing, Paul released 1,100 pages of Fauci’s diary as NIAID director, spanning from late 2019, when Covid-19 began spreading in China, to his retirement in December 2022. The diary entries show his growing concern about the pandemic, internal conflicts with administration officials and his documentation of his rising fame.

Fauci referenced the release of his diary as further evidence of Paul’s crusade against him, calling it a move “aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me.” He concluded his remarks saying: “Although it pains me to do so because of the respect that I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.”

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.