Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, refusing to answer basic questions from lawmakers.
Republican senators challenged the 85-year-old immunologist's legal basis for claiming protection against self-incrimination, citing a prior presidential pardon that covers federal offenses and nullifies Fifth Amendment protections regarding past conduct.
Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley directly questioned Fauci's refusal to answer simple administrative details during the session.
"Doc, let's try something," said Hawley.
Hawley proceeded to test Fauci's stance by asking basic factual questions regarding his surroundings and schedule.
"What day of the week is it today?" asked Hawley.
Fauci declined to answer, providing a boilerplate invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights.
"What color tie are you wearing?" asked Hawley.
Fauci again declined to answer, invoking the Fifth Amendment once more.
Hawley cited the 1896 Supreme Court precedent Brown v. Walker, which established that witnesses granted immunity cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid testimony.
"Let's just get one thing straight.
You don't have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you've been pardoned, as you very well know," said Hawley.
During the exchange, Hawley noted the visible reactions of the legal team seated behind the former agency director.
"This isn't about the law. This is about contempt, contempt for this body and contempt for the American people," said Hawley.
Hawley accused Fauci of using legal maneuvers to avoid public accountability for actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"But I think I know why you're doing it. It's because you don't want to answer questions.
It's because you did all kinds of terrible things. It's because during the pandemic, you got rich… while people were dying," said Hawley.
The hearing also saw procedural friction when committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky.
, ejected top Fauci attorney David Schertler after Schertler refused to remain in his assigned seat and stay quiet.
Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno followed Hawley's questioning by asking Fauci to demonstrate knowledge of the constitutional clause he was claiming.
When Moreno asked Fauci to recite the Fifth Amendment, Fauci declined to do so.
"No, I'm just asking you what it says," said Moreno.
Fauci repeated his standardized legal response despite the clarification.
"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution," said Fauci.
Moreno directed an aide to deliver a physical copy of the U. S.
Constitution to Fauci, but the effort yielded the same invocation from the former official.
"So you're invoking a right that you don't know who wrote it or what it says? Is that correct?"
asked Moreno.
Fauci again invoked his Fifth Amendment right after declining to read or recite the text.
Analyzing the legal context on Fox News, anchor Harris Faulkner noted that while President Joe Biden's retroactive pardon protects Fauci from federal offenses, it does not offer universal immunity.
"It does not protect him from prosecution from perjury if he lies under oath after receiving the pardon," said Faulkner.
Faulkner added that the presidential pardon does not shield individuals from state criminal prosecutions, future offenses, or congressional oversight inquiries.
