Story by US Staff.
Dr Anthony Fauci could be jailed for up to a year after being found in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer a single question during a Covid hearing.
The scientist, who helped spearhead the White House Covid-19 task force, invoked the Fifth Amendment and claimed the Senate committee was trying to coerce him into perjuring himself to justify criminal charges.
The Fifth Amendment allows individuals in the US to remain silent under questioning to protect against self-incrimination.
He accused its Republican chairman, Senator Rand Paul, of having an “unhinged obsession” with him.
After the July 29 hearing and Dr Fauci’s refusal to answer, the Republican majority committee voted by eight votes to seven in favour of holding him in contempt of Congress.
The matter will now be referred to the US justice department by Mr Paul, where it will be assessed by the US’s most senior lawyers for prosecution. If Dr Fauci is prosecuted, he could be sentenced to up to a year in prison.
Dr Fauci accused Senator Rand Paul of having an ‘unhinged obsession’ with him – AFP
Republicans accuse Dr Fauci, who worked with Donald Trump in his first term during the Covid pandemic, of covering up government funding of coronavirus research in labs in Wuhan, China, before the disease was first detected in December 2019.
Dr Fauci has repeatedly denied the allegations and says that he has an “open mind” about the virus’s origins.
Mr Paul has long criticised Dr Fauci. The retired scientist featured on the cover of Mr Paul’s 2023 book Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up.
Dr Fauci received a pre-emptive pardon from Joe Biden on the last day he was president so he would be immune from prosecution for actions the doctor took while in office.
During Thursday’s Senate committee session, Mr Paul argued that Dr Fauci had no reason to avoid the questioning because of Mr Biden’s pardon.
“Dr Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution,” Mr Paul said. “All he had to do was tell the truth.”
David Schertler, a lawyer for Dr Fauci, said the vote was a “crude political stunt intended to punish Dr Fauci for exercising his constitutional rights”.
“It is shameful and wrong that Senator Paul is abusing his power by trying to weaponise the Justice Department against an honourable public servant,” he said in a statement.
Ron Johnson, a Republican senator for Wisconsin, said he had obtained a copy of the doctor’s government phone from the time.
“Hopefully, this device will address many of the questions he refused to answer at last week’s hearing,” Mr Johnson said.
