Watch Live: Fauci invokes 5th in hearing, citing Rand Paul's "unhinged obsession

<p>In his opening statement, Fauci said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to not respond to questions, citing Paul\u0027s "unhinged obsession" with trying to put him "behind bars." </p><p>"Given Senator Paul\u0027s 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, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, \u0027behind bars,\u0027" Fauci said. </p><p>"Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion. Therefore, although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions. Thank you." </p><p>In response to Paul\u0027s first question, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer. </p>