WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and repeatedly declined to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The hearing, convened by committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), focused on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. funding of research related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and Fauci’s role in the federal response. Fauci, who led the institute for 38 years before retiring in 2022, had been subpoenaed to testify. He was sworn in and delivered an opening statement but then refused to respond to nearly every subsequent question.
In his prepared remarks, Fauci emphasized his long record of cooperating with Congress, noting that he had testified or briefed lawmakers more than 200 times during his tenure. He said the current proceeding was different. “Given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me, the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he 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, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci stated. He added that while it pained him given his respect for the legislative branch, he was following the advice of his attorneys in invoking the Fifth Amendment.
Paul, who has long clashed with Fauci over gain-of-function research and pandemic policies, opened the hearing by referencing more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s personal diary and notes from the pandemic years, which the senator’s office released in the days leading up to the session. Paul argued the documents showed inconsistencies between Fauci’s private thoughts and his public statements on the virus’s origins. He accused the former official of misleading the public and Congress about the possibility of a laboratory-related origin and of supporting measures that led to widespread lockdowns.
Fauci responded to question after question with a nearly identical formulation: that on the advice of counsel, he was invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. Reports from the hearing indicated he did so more than 70 times, and in some accounts more than 100 times, as Republican senators continued their lines of inquiry. Paul warned of potential consequences, stating it is against the law to obstruct a congressional investigation and that there would be repercussions. He later announced plans to hold a committee vote the following week on whether to recommend holding Fauci in contempt of Congress.
One of the most dramatic moments occurred when one of Fauci’s attorneys, David Schertler, attempted to interject during the proceedings. Paul repeatedly told the lawyer he was not recognized to speak and ordered him not to disrupt the hearing. When Schertler continued, Paul directed security to remove him from the room. The attorney was escorted out amid applause from some in the audience. Schertler later described the ejection as outrageous and evidence of a biased process. Paul noted that Fauci still had several other attorneys present who could advise him privately.
Democratic senators on the committee criticized the hearing as partisan and backward-looking. Ranking Member Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) argued that the session appeared designed to reach a predetermined conclusion rather than address current national security priorities. Other Democrats expressed concern that the format was intended to create a difficult position for the witness.
The appearance marked a sharp departure from Fauci’s previous congressional testimonies, in which he had answered questions under oath on similar topics and denied funding certain high-risk research or participating in any cover-up. Fauci has previously described accusations of lying to Congress as preposterous. A preemptive pardon issued by President Joe Biden covering certain periods of Fauci’s government service was referenced during the hearing, with differing views on its implications for potential future legal exposure related to new statements.
The hearing underscored the enduring political divisions over the COVID-19 pandemic more than six years after its onset. Republicans on the panel pressed issues of scientific transparency, research oversight, and accountability for public health decisions that affected daily life for millions of Americans. Democrats framed the proceedings as an effort to relitigate past events rather than focus on forward-looking challenges.
Fauci, now 85, has faced sustained criticism from some quarters over the years while remaining a prominent public figure for others who credit him with guiding the country through a historic health crisis. Wednesday’s session produced no new substantive testimony from the witness on the core scientific and policy questions. Instead, it delivered a highly charged political confrontation that is likely to fuel further debate in Congress and beyond. Paul indicated the committee would continue its examination of the issues regardless of the day’s outcome.
