Immunologist Anthony Fauci, a prominent figure in the U.S. response to Covid-19, unexpectedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee convened to examine the pandemic. He said he feared Republicans could use his testimony against him in a perjury prosecution. Addressing Senator Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the committee, Fauci said: “The conclusion I can draw is that the only reason you brought me before this committee is to have me say something that would support your repeated public promises, in your words, that I will end up ‘behind bars.'”

“Any reasonable person who has followed his unbalanced obsession with me would easily reach the same conclusion,” Fauci added. “Therefore, although it pains me to do so out of respect for the legislative branch and for my decades-long cooperation with Congress, on the advice of my lawyers I invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to decline to answer your questions,” the immunologist continued.

Trump: “Fauci’s ideas on Covid were crazy”

Former President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of Fauci on the social platform Truth Social, calling Fauci’s ideas “crazy” and claiming that “many more people died of Covid under the Biden administration than under the Trump administration,” while asserting the “spectacular success” of his own response to the coronavirus.

Trump also reiterated his long-held view that the virus originated in a Wuhan laboratory, saying Fauci strongly disagreed and “was always trying to protect China,” and that he gradually lost trust in Fauci. According to Trump, Fauci made too many wrong decisions, including on masks: “Remember that at the beginning he was anti-mask. Then he became pro-mask. In any case I did not allow him to shut down the country, even though he wanted to.”

Trump added that during the pandemic he followed a federalist approach by leaving decisions to state governors, and he argued that Republican governors “did a much better job” than Democrats. He said Fauci was largely sidelined until President Joe Biden—whom Trump sometimes called “sleepy”—elevated Fauci’s profile. Trump said he had called Biden to argue that Fauci “was worthless, either didn’t understand anything, or was dishonest.”

U.S. Senate to vote next week on contempt of Congress charge against Fauci

Senator Rand Paul, Republican chair of the Homeland Security Committee, announced that next week the Senate will vote on whether to charge Anthony Fauci with contempt of Congress after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment.

In a written statement submitted before the hearing, Fauci’s lawyer said the circumstances surrounding the hearing “unfortunately made cooperation with Congress impossible,” and accused Paul of conducting a “public crusade” against his client.