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See the full story · 7 sourcesFauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right during testimony last week, declining to answer more than 100 times about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic
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Dr. Anthony Fauci’s cell phone is now in the hands of Republicans pushing to charge him with contempt of Congress after he refused to answer questions about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic at a hearing last week.
Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right during testimony last week, declining to answer more than 100 times, with Republican Senator Rand Paul leading the charge against the infectious disease expert.
The Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has obtained a copy of the doctor’s iPhone, The Wall Street Journal first reported, which Republicans hope could shed more light on the matter. The Republican-led committee a lready has copies of Fauci’s private journals, publicly released last week.
Fauci used the iPhone while he was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the Trump administration, his spokesperson told the WSJ . The revelation of the cell phone comes as the committee voted to refer Fauci to the Department of Justice for contempt of Congress.
The doctor helped lead the nation’s response to the pandemic and is accused by Paul of not being forthcoming about the potential origins of the virus, in addition to guidance he gave on vaccine mandates and social distancing. He has vigorously denied the allegations.
He stayed in government during the first year of the Biden administration and was pardoned by former president Joe Biden as one of the Democrat’s final acts in office.
Concerned that the doctor could become a future target of Republicans, Biden issued a preemptive pardon for Fauci that effectively blocked federal criminal prosecutions for any official conduct between 2014 and 2025, a period covering his response to the pandemic.
Fauci noted the pardon does not protect him from possible state prosecutions or from any allegations of false testimony before Congress.
Paul threatened that Fauci would face “consequences” for asserting his Fifth Amendment right after the infectious disease expert blasted the Republican lawmaker for his “unhinged obsession” with him.
Fauci “didn’t need to hide behind the Fifth Amendment, and maybe the Fifth Amendment doesn’t attach when you have a pardon in place,” Paul told reporters after the hearing.
Before the hearing, Fauci said he still faced potential legal risks despite the pardon. In a statement, he accused Paul of trying to force him into saying “something, anything” that could fulfill the senator's repeated pledge to see him “behind bars.”
Paul said Wednesday he does not plan to immediately seek a full Senate contempt vote, acknowledging such resolutions often fail to secure the required 60 votes. Instead, he said the committee will first vote on sending a recommendation to federal prosecutors, with the possibility of a Senate vote later if necessary.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
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