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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.<\/b><\/p>\n
The former top infectious disease expert invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination during testimony more than 100 times on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Senator Rand Paul told CBS News afterwards: “I think there is a very real chance that he could be prosecuted for that.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It remains unclear whether he could face any charges. Fauci’s lawyer said his client was on “solid legal ground”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Fauci told the panel he was invoking the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution under the advice of his lawyers.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Paul, a Kentucky senator, said the committee would vote next week on holding Fauci in criminal contempt of Congress.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
If the resolution was passed through the Senate, it would be referred to the top prosecutor for the District of Columbia for possible prosecution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n