'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'
Rand Paul announced he will seek civil contempt charges after Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right over 70 times during the hearing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right 106 times during a Senate hearing on the Covid pandemic response. NBC News' Julie Tsirkin reports on the questions Fauci was asked and his opening statement saying Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has an "unhinged obsession" with him.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the nation's infectious disease efforts during the pandemic, invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday and declined to answer questions from a Senate committee investigating the origins of COVID-19.Why it matters: Fauci said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the head of the Senate homeland security committee, was trying to get him to say…
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.
"He invoked the Fifth ... over 100 times during the hearing today," Dr. Celine Gounder told NewsNation.
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".
Testimony came after the release of his private journals from during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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…
