Fauci Takes The 5th At The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

Fauci is in real trouble here.  You cannot refuse to testify after being subpoenaed about matters for which you have received a full and unconditional pardon.  Senator Paul will probably ask for a contempt holding, which will send Fauci to the crowbar hotel until he is willing to testify.  No Washington jury of Democrats can nullify a contempt citation.

Here is a blast from the past.  Dr. Fauci's attestations of innocence at the time he was pardoned by the autopen:

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis/fauci-biden-pardon-00199293

Fauci welcomes Biden pardon but says he has ‘committed no crime’
The former public health official was expected to be targeted with legal action.
By Sophie Gardner and Carmen Paun - January 20, 2025

After President Joe Biden issued an eleventh-hour preemptive pardon for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical adviser to the president told POLITICO he has “committed no crime” but appreciates the pardon.

The long-time National Institutes of Health scientist drew ire from Republicans for the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and was expected to be targeted with legal action under the incoming Trump administration, as several Republican congresspeople and allies of the president-elect — including Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist — have threatened retribution.

In a statement to POLITICO outlining his service at the NIH, including advising seven presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Biden, Fauci said he’s been the subject of politically motivated threats of investigation and prosecution.

“Let me be perfectly clear: I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me,” he said.

But the “mere articulation of these baseless threats and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family,” Fauci added.

That’s why he acknowledges and appreciates “the action that President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci wrote.

Biden’s action on Monday also included a preemptive pardon of former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. The outgoing president also pardoned the members and staff of the House special committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as well as officers from Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police who testified before the Jan. 6 committee.

All of those pardoned have been verbally attacked by Trump, and many of his allies have called for them to face criminal charges.

Biden’s decision is already spurring criticism from the Trump camp.

In a text to NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump responded to the pardons, saying “It is disgraceful. Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!”

Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s eldest son, responded to the Fauci news on X: “he doesn’t have to accept the pardon. If he did nothing wrong be a man and turn it down… But you know he won’t because everyone knows he’s guilty of so much.”

“If there was ever any doubt as to who bears responsibility for the COVID pandemic, Biden’s pardon of Fauci forever seals the deal,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) posted on X. “As Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee I will not rest until the entire truth of the coverup is exposed.”

Background: Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH for nearly 40 years, was Biden’s chief medical adviser until he retired in 2022. He helped manage the U.S. Covid response and became a target of people on the right who saw mask mandates and other pandemic policies as infringing on their rights. Fauci’s critics also accused him of involvement in an alleged coverup related to Covid’s origins.

Republicans in Congress have alleged that Fauci was involved in suppressing the theory that a lab accident in Wuhan, China, was responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. Fauci has endorsed the theory that the disease came from an infected animal and repeatedly pushed back on allegations that he was involved in a coverup.

The GOP push against Fauci progressed in May when the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released a series of private emails that suggested some employees at NIH tried to avoid having to comply with public records laws.

Fauci and his family have received death threats, and he has protective security.

Senator Rand Paul announced a vote next week to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during the the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing.

The vote will be held on Wednesday, August 5th.

Read the entire Fauci Diaries and Documentation at the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Reading Room.  There are redactions in these pdf documents, but the documents amount to 1,969 pages documenting COVID era lies and deceit.  We will probably never find all the relevant documents, but this is quite the trove:

Dr. Ralph Baric Transcribed Interview Released [155 pages]

July 23, 2026 – On April 10, 2026, Dr. Ralph Baric sat for a voluntary transcribed interview with Chairman Paul’s staff. Dr. Baric, of the University of North Carolina, is one of the scientists behind the DEFUSE gain-of-function proposal, a key contributor to NIAID funded projects in Wuhan, a member of the Biological Sciences Experts Group, and one of the world’s preeminent coronavirologists. He confirmed the furin cleavage site insertion was his job. He confirmed he ran an experiment that undercuts the core scientific defense of natural origin. And he still can’t explain how he ended up on the February 1, 2020 call with Dr. Fauci and the authors of “Proximal Origins.”

https://www.paul.senate.gov/2026-07-23_updated-final-final_baric-ti_redacted/

NEW: Federal Officials Intercepted Undeclared Biological Materials Tied to a U.S. – China Coronavirus-Research Network as Early as 2018 [41 pages]

July 24, 2026 – Undeclared coronavirus materials moved between U.S. and Chinese labs as far back as 2018 — years before COVID-19. A courier was caught twice, three years apart…first with a few hidden vials, then with 132 more and a laptop that wasn’t his.

https://www.paul.senate.gov/final-cbp-release-package/

Fauci's Side Hustle: How NIH Lined Dr. Anthony Fauci's Pockets with Prize Money [136 pages]

July 24, 2026 – Records released today reveal that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the highest-paid federal official in the U.S. government, stacked up cash prizes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars during COVID, with NIH’s number two official serving as his personal awards manager and his taxpayer-funded staff writing the nominations for him. Some of the prizes came from American institutions, but the largest came from a foreign institution that wired him $900,000.

https://www.paul.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/7.24.2026_Fauci-Awards_FINAL_REDACTED.pdf

Tony's Diary: What He Wrote Privately vs. What He Said Publicly [1,141 pages]

July 25, 2026 – Fauci’s personal diary reveals that as early as January 31, 2020, he was told by top virologists that the virus’s furin cleavage site raised real doubts about a natural origin, with about half the scientists on that initial call believing it looked “constructed.” Despite this early private uncertainty, Fauci spent the following years publicly and confidently dismissing the lab leak theory while insisting the science was settled. The diary also documents his private frustration and defensiveness over gain-of-function funding questions tied to EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology — even as he told Congress under oath that no such research had occurred.

https://www.paul.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026.07.24_Tonys-Diary-Package.pdf

NEW: Investigation Records Released [496 pages]

July 28, 2026 – As part of his investigation, Chairman Paul released additional sets of documents and records. This will be updated with additional volumes.

https://www.paul.senate.gov/reading-room-final/

Anthony Fauci was held in contempt of Congress by the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this morning.  Ranking Minority Member Gary Peters of Michigan said "the investigation was one-sided from the beginning," claiming that "Information has been selectively released to support conclusions that the chairman reached years ago."

Committee Chairman Rand Paul said "Seeking the truth is not a witch hunt.  Accountability is not vengeance. Accountability is what stands between the American people and a repeat of the mistakes and the very real consequences of the past."

The Senate committee resolution refers Fauci to the U.S. Justice Department for prosecution:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-senate-panel-votes-hold-fauci-contempt-congress-2026-08-06/

US Senate panel votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress
By Ahmed Aboulenein - August 6, 2026

WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee voted on Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after the former top U.S. infectious disease official refused to ​answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Homeland Security and Governmental ‌Affairs Committee approved a referral pushed by its Republican Chair Rand Paul of Kentucky, a longtime Fauci antagonist. The vote followed a hearing last week where Fauci, who is 85 and retired in 2022, invoked the Fifth ​Amendment more than 100 times.

Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious ​Diseases for 38 years, became the face of the U.S. pandemic response ⁠and a primary target of anger over measures taken against a virus that killed more ​than 1.1 million Americans.

President Donald Trump and many conservatives criticized him over lockdowns, mask and social-distancing ​guidance, and his promotion of vaccines, which became heavily politicized despite being shown safe and effective. Fauci and public health officials worldwide backed the measures based on scientific evidence available at the time.

Former President Joe Biden ​preemptively pardoned him in January 2025, to guard against "unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions" related to ​COVID or his role in the response. The pardon does not cover subsequent conduct.

Paul said Fauci had no ‌valid ⁠Fifth Amendment claim because the pardon nullified it and because Fauci waived any remaining protection by testifying.

Fauci told the panel Paul had summoned him only to force testimony backing the senator's repeated public pledges to see him imprisoned.

A representative for Fauci could not immediately be reached for comment.

A ​contempt referral typically must ​be approved by ⁠a congressional committee and then the full Senate, which would likely need a 60-vote majority, requiring Democratic support, highly unlikely given the party's defense of ​Fauci.

But Paul has suggested that vote may be unnecessary, telling Fox ​News he could ⁠send the referral directly to the Justice Department with a legal brief.

Paul's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If the referral proceeds, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, run ⁠by Trump ​ally Jeanine Pirro, would review it and decide whether ​to seek a grand jury indictment.

Fauci also faces state-level scrutiny, with Louisiana joining Florida and Alabama in investigating his pandemic ​conduct. A federal pardon does not preclude state charges.

Anthony Fauci now faces three different state level investigations arising from his diary contents and wealth accumulation during the COVID era:

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6013039-florida-west-virginia-louisiana-attorneys-general-subpoena-anthony-fauci-covid-19/

3 state attorneys general subpoena Anthony Fauci
By Max Rego - August 6, 2026

A trio of Republican attorneys general subpoenaed former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci on Wednesday, as part of a joint probe into the former health official’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) joined forces with West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey (R) and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) in issuing the investigative subpoena into Fauci.

The probe will center on awards, professional opportunities, financial incentives, grants and COVID-19 guidance Fauci either received or provided that impacted businesses and consumers in the Sunshine State, according to a release from Uthmeier’s office.

Fauci’s diary entries during the pandemic, which Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released last month, reveal the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was aware his remarks compelled state and local lawmakers to close schools and businesses in the early stages of the pandemic.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) took a different approach, prioritizing the reopening of schools and businesses. The outgoing Sunshine State governor has also repeatedly criticized Fauci over the years for his handling of the pandemic.

In his journal, the doctor often noted his growing fame during the public health crisis, pointing to his daily media appearances and highlighting his interactions with celebrities.

“It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country,” he wrote in May 2020.

Uthmeier said the doctor could have broken Florida law if he “personally profited” off of the guidance he issued.

“Fauci’s diary focused more on self-promotion than the legitimate safety concerns from the mRNA vaccines,” the Florida attorney general added in the release. “While Fauci was pushing for book deals, awards, and fortune and fame, Floridians were being deceived and harmed by his misrepresentations.”

During his testimony last week before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — which Paul chairs — Fauci pleaded the Fifth Amendment 100-plus times in response to questions from Republican lawmakers. GOP senators spent much of the hearing taking Fauci to task for his handling of COVID-19.

The panel voted on Thursday to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. The committee’s report, including a criminal referral, is now expected to head to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

A copy of the resolution Paul shared to social media states the Kentucky Republican found Fauci’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment “unsupported as applied” to questions pertaining to the period subject to a preemptive pardon President Biden issued to his former health adviser in January 2025.

In the release from Uthmeier’s office, McCuskey said Fauci’s refusal to answer questions from senators on the Homeland Security panel was “concerning.”

The West Virginia attorney general added, “The American people deserve to know if they or their elected leaders were misled or manipulated. Both my Office and I support Attorney General Uthmeier’s efforts to uncover the truth.”

Murrill also said the public “deserves answers” about the origins of the pandemic and the government’s response, adding, “What we know already is Fauci lied—we just don’t know yet how much.”

The subpoena to Fauci commands him to produce documents from Jan. 3, 2020, through the present by the end of the month.

The list of requested documents includes awards Fauci received or was considered for, a grant the NIAID provided in 2022 to the University of Florida Scripps Biomedical Research Program and “professional opportunities” the doctor either pursued, considered or was offered, including professorships, book deals and memoir contracts.