U.S. President Donald Trump said he would support a possible criminal indictment by the Department of Justice against Anthony Fauci for contempt of Congress, comparing the former top health official’s situation to the legal actions taken against two of his own close associates during the Biden administration.

When asked by reporters about whether the Department of Justice should pursue charges against Fauci, Trump referred to the contempt of Congress convictions of his former aides Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who had refused to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Both were convicted and served four months in prison.

“Merrick Garland prosecuted two decent people and sent them to prison,” Trump said, referring to the attorney general appointed by President Joe Biden. “So, when you see something like that, you think maybe he should [do the same],” Trump added about Fauci. “Frankly, what he did was much worse than many crimes, but they prosecuted two people when nothing like that had happened before.”

For Republican senators on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who voted yesterday, Fauci — who led the United States’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic — is guilty of contempt of Congress.

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