Senate votes to hold Dr. Fauci in contempt of Congress

On July 29, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before a Congressional committee. He had been called to testify on a number of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which included his advisory roles to both President Trump during his first term and subsequently to President Biden.

Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also posed pointed questions about the theory that COVID-19 leaked from a lab in Wuhan China rather than evolving naturally from a disease carried by animals to one that could infect and be carried by humans. Under Fauci’s leadership, NIAID provided funding to research on COVID viruses at this lab, which some say lead to an altered version of the virus leaking from the lab and infecting the human population.

During this hearing, members of Congress grilled him on a number of issues. Dr. Fauci pleaded his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination over 100 times. The Homeland Security Committee voted today to refer contempt of Congress charges against Dr. Fauci to the Department of Justice for his refusal to answer questions.

A legal gray area

Whether or not Fauci is in fact liable for contempt of Congress for pleading the 5th Amendment is a complicated Constitutional question and a matter for the courts to decide. Click here for a more in-depth explanation of the legal arguments on both sides. To summarize:

Under normal circumstances, a person cannot be held in contempt for pleading the 5th, nor can any inference be made about their actual guilt or innocence. In Fauci’s case though, the committee argued, the fact that Fauci received a broad pre-emptive pardon from President Biden on January 19, 2025, meant that he was not in danger of self-incrimination and therefore was compelled to answer questions from Congress.

However, Fauci could argue that since the pardon only covered the period from January 14, 2015, to January 19, 2025, he could still be prosecuted for conduct after January 19, 2025. The concern would be that if he made any statements before Congress on July 29 that were in anyway inconsistent with his priory testimony or other any other information in the public record, he could be charged with perjury.

Since Trump returned to office, Republicans in Congress have attempted to bring perjury charges against people that Trump considers to be political adversaries. This includes former FBI Director James Comey and, more recently, former DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal criminal investigations against Trump during Biden’s term.