Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions at Covid hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer senators' questions Wednesday at a hearing on the origins of Covid and the government's pandemic response, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to avoid the possibility that Republicans could use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.

The surprise move upended a hearing already expected to be contentious given Fauci's history of clashes with Chairman Rand Paul. In his opening statement to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Fauci pointed to what he called Paul's obsession with calling for his prosecution and the senator's decision to publicly release his personal journal, saying the sole aim was to get him to say something that would justify Paul's pledges to put him behind bars. Fauci noted he had testified before or briefed Congress well over 200 times across nearly 40 years leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Paul pressed on regardless, and Fauci answered each question with the same line, declining on the advice of counsel. Paul warned of repercussions, saying it is against the law to obstruct a congressional investigation, and later ordered security to remove Fauci's attorney from the room.