A Biden-era pardon of the former public health chief isn't stopping Republicans who are raging at Fauci for stonewalling them during a Senate hearing.Show Caption
WASHINGTON – Sen. Rand Paul’s threat to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for stonewalling Senate Republicans during a hearing is already creating a cloud of legal questions.The former public health chief pleaded the Fifth Amendment for hours on Wednesday, July 29, in response to a barrage of queries about his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.Paul, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was enraged by the infectious disease expert’s refusal to engage with lawmakers. Almost immediately after the raucous proceedings, the Kentucky Republican said he planned to schedule a committee vote next week to move toward recommending contempt charges against Fauci.Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, signaled he’d be supportive of Paul’s push."In my state, people would just like more information," he told USA TODAY. "I think he caused a lot of mistrust."There's a twist, however: Fauci was pardoned by former President Biden for any actions he took directing the nation’s coronavirus response from 2014 up through 2025. Paul seemed to suggest he thinks Fauci could potentially still be prosecuted for obstructing a congressional investigation outside of that window. By invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination, Fauci himself (and his lawyers) appeared to be worried to some degree about being cornered into perjuring himself."Do you incriminate yourself if you have a pardon? I think that question’s for the courts," the libertarian senator said.Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told USA TODAY she wants to discuss the move further with other members of the relevant Senate panel to "really understand the legal ramifications.""I'd want to talk to a general counsel and just understand how we proceed," she said.Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the panel, told reporters after Wednesday morning's hearing that he wasn't "assessing anybody’s legal liability.""We'll see what happens going forward," he said. "I would hope that we start doing some hearings on actually how we prepare the United States for future pandemics."The Senate is scheduled to leave town Aug. 7 for a monthlong recess.Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.
