Republican Sen. Rand Paul said on Thursday he will recommend that the Justice Department charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with contempt of Congress, advancing an audacious effort by GOP critics to prosecute the well-known scientist over his refusal to testify about the US government response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paul’s office plans to hand-deliver the referral to federal authorities shortly after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee narrowly voted along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt, arguing that he could not rely on his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid answering lawmakers’ questions.
The move sets up a high-stakes legal and political test for the Trump administration, which now must decide whether to bring charges against Fauci despite deep uncertainty over whether such a case could succeed in court.
“It doesn’t have to go to the House, doesn’t have to be signed by the president, and really doesn’t have to go before the Senate,” Paul said Thursday of his referral. The majority had voted “to refer this, so that will be accomplished today,” he said.
The 8-7 committee vote came a week after Fauci declined to answer lawmakers’ questions during a fiery hearing before the Senate committee, instead invoking his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times.
