Dr. Anthony Fauci has appeared before Congress more than 250 times over his decades-long career. On Wednesday, however, it went differently than in the past. The 85-year-old former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was called before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for a hearing that ran over two hours. There, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times. According to CNN, Fauci, most known for guiding the US Covid-19 pandemic response across two administrations, delivered a brief, sharp opening statement. He then retreated to a single, 24-word sentence for the remainder of the session: “Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.” The outlet noted that the move effectively shut down the line of questioning Republicans had hoped would lead to new claims of perjury. Thanks to his silence, the Associated Press reported that Republican committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul vowed to force a committee vote next week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Committee Republicans were fired up in their questioning Per AP News, Paul has long maintained an antagonistic relationship with the scientist and has been leading a yearslong campaign to investigate his handling of the pandemic. The Senator admitted that he can only recommend prosecution and cannot initiate it himself. However, he made it clear that he believes there should be consequences for the refusal to testify. “It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify,” Paul stated during the hearing. Fauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so … under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to refrain from… pic.twitter.com/nhXwMaavzL— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 29, 2026 Per the outlets, the atmosphere in the room was electric and often chaotic. In one extraordinary moment, Paul had Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, escorted out of the room after he attempted to interject. Schertler later told CNN the removal was “outrageous and demonstrates the completely biased and baseless nature of this proceeding.” In another statement provided to the Associated Press, he called Paul’s accusations against his client “false and disgraceful.” This hearing featured new documentation that came under scrutiny. As MS Now reported, Paul entered the chamber armed with thousands of pages of Fauci’s personal diaries. They were reportedly provided to the committee by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Per the outlet, Paul used these documents to argue that what Fauci wrote in private contradicted his public statements regarding the origins of the coronavirus. In one instance, Paul pointed to a January 2020 diary entry where Fauci noted the first infection was not connected to the market, which Paul interpreted as evidence that the scientist was covering up a lab leak theory. According to CNN, Fauci linked his refusal to speak with Paul’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.” “The sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said. Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators in a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientist, who helped lead the nation’s COVID-19 response, was… pic.twitter.com/JFkYa3KeDO— The Associated Press (@AP) July 29, 2026 Republicans on the committee were visibly frustrated by Fauci’s lack of cooperation. MS Now noted that Sen. Josh Hawley aimed at Fauci’s media appearances during the pandemic. He contrasted Fauci’s willingness to speak to outlets like InStyle with his refusal to answer questions on Capitol Hill. “You wanted to be on TV. You wanted to be the sun god of science. You wanted to be the guy who was in charge of it all,” Hawley said. Meanwhile, CNN reported that Democrats on the committee, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, framed the event differently. “The campaign to vilify you, Dr. Fauci, is just one part of this larger campaign against science and facts — a campaign that has made Americans less safe,” Blumenthal said during the hearing. The legal landscape surrounding this standoff is complex. According to AP News, former President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Fauci in late 2024 to shield him from politically motivated prosecutions. However, some Republicans have argued that the pardon does not cover potential crimes committed after it was issued, such as perjury during this specific hearing. Additionally, Trump announced the pardons void last year. Per CNN, Paul highlighted this in his opening statement. He said, “A pardon that protects a person from criminal prosecution doesn’t rewrite history. It does not erase documents. It does not convert a misleading statement to a truthful one, and it does not prevent Congress from establishing what happened.” Despite the intense focus, the hearing did not yield new evidence to support the claim that Fauci orchestrated a cover-up regarding the origins of the virus. Additionally, AP News highlighted that many scientists have rallied to his defense, with more than 150 experts signing a public letter urging officials to stop what they described as a witch-hunt.