A US Senate committee chairman has warned that ex-White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci could be held in contempt of Congress after refusing to answer questions at a combative hearing into his handling of the Covid pandemic.
The former top infectious disease expert invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination during testimony more than 100 times on Wednesday.
Senator Rand Paul told CBS News afterwards: “I think there is a very real chance that he could be prosecuted for that.”
Paul has long accused Fauci of trying to cover up the origin of Covid, and of funding research at a lab in Wuhan in China, where some theories say the pandemic began. Fauci denies any wrongdoing.
It remains unclear whether he could face any charges. Fauci’s lawyer said his client was on “solid legal ground”.
Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases was being grilled by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which is led by Paul.
Fauci told the panel he was invoking the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution under the advice of his lawyers.
Invoking the Fifth Amendment in itself is not a crime, and is routinely used by defendants in criminal investigations at every level of the US judicial system.
President Donald Trump invoked it repeatedly during a deposition for a civil case against the Trump Organization in New York back in 2022, before he returned to the White House.
Paul, a Kentucky senator, said the committee would vote next week on holding Fauci in criminal contempt of Congress.
If approved, the resolution would go to the Senate floor, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner. But it would need 60 votes to pass – a long shot since that would require Democrats to side with Republicans.
If the resolution was passed through the Senate, it would be referred to the top prosecutor for the District of Columbia for possible prosecution.
