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Senate Cmte. holds Fauci in contempt of congress
Senate Republicans voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he declined to answer lawmakers’ questions during a fiery hearing last week. The committee can refer the contempt of Congress resolution directly to the Justice Department or request that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, hold a full Senate vote. Paul said yesterday that the "first thing we will do" if the resolution was approved would be to refer the matter to the DOJ.
A Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after his recent testimony before lawmakers during which he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than one hundred times.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines, in a move after the panel's chair, Sen. Rand Paul vowed to make Fauci face "repercussions" for not testifying.
What they're saying:
Paul issued the warning after concluding his questioning of the former health official.
"The chairman has denied your assertion of privilege and directed you to answer, but you nonetheless refuse and stand on privilege despite the existence of the pardon," Paul said. "The committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against your for the failure to testify after being directed to do so."
"It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress," Paul said. "There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today."
Paul, who has long argued that Fauci should be criminally investigated, based on his belief that the scientist was dishonest in previous testimony to Congress, announced that the committee will vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt for declining to answer questions.
What is contempt of Congress?
Dig deeper:
Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of Congress and happens when a person refuses to obey a lawful congressional subpoena to provide documents, appear at a hearing or answer questions at a hearing.
A committee approves a citation, and then the full House or Senate votes on it, and it would need a 60-vote majority in the Senate. If passed, it goes to the Department of Justice for an indictment which would need to be approved by a grand jury.
During the Trump administration, grand jury panels have refused to sign off on charges in multiple politically charged cases, so the grand jury indictment may be an uphill battle.
If Fauci is indicted, it’s likely that his lawyers will argue he cannot face contempt charges for exercising his right under the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment to refuse to answer questions that could expose him to criminal liability since former President Joe Biden pardoned Fauci for any offenses he may have committed from 2014 until January 2025.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from Fox News, The Associated Press, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and previous reporting by LiveNOW from Fox. This story was reported from Orlando.