Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right dozens of times, refusing to answer even what day it was or what color his tie was at the hearing.
At a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci refused to answer repeated questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, invoking the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times. Now, Republicans are threatening to hold him in contempt of Congress. NBC’s Monica Alba reports for TODAY.
Fauci invoked his right not to respond to questions in his opening statement, citing Senator Rand Paul's "unhinged obsession" with trying to put him "behind bars".
"He invoked the Fifth ... over 100 times during the hearing today," Dr. Celine Gounder told NewsNation.
Anthony Fauci, former chief White House medical adviser, invoked his Fifth Amendment right on Wednesday when he appeared before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing held by the committee’s chair, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). In his opening remarks, Fauci blasted Paul’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.” The two…
'All he had to do today was be honest. If he was honest even about committing a crime, he would have no jeopardy. There WILL be a vote next week on contempt'
The Senate has a clear duty to hold him in contempt, and with all practical penalties that can entail.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with invoking the Fifth Amendment. The perception that anyone who pleads the Fifth to protect themselves from self-incrimination is only hiding guilt is wrong. Innocent people are often intimidated or tricked by those in power into implicating themselves. Others might get nervous under oath and worry about misspeaking under…
