Rand Paul Says Fauci Contempt Vote Could Go Straight To DOJ
The fallout from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s dramatic Senate testimony is continuing to grow after the chairman of the committee that questioned him revealed what he believes could be the next step.
Rather than allowing the matter to become bogged down in a lengthy legislative process, one Republican senator says there may be a faster path to placing the issue before federal prosecutors.
Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that if the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, the resolution could be referred directly to the Department of Justice for possible criminal consideration.
Speaking with Fox News following the hearing, Paul said he expects the committee to approve the resolution when lawmakers meet next week.
“It’s actually a law. It’s a resolution,” Paul said.
“So it’s a resolution saying that he should be considered for charges for contempt of Congress.”
Paul argued that because the measure is a congressional resolution rather than a bill creating new law, it may not need to advance through the full legislative process.
“I think if that resolution passes our committee, which it will, that it could simply be referred directly to the Department of Justice,” Paul said.
“Since it’s not really a law, it doesn’t have an exact procedure. It doesn’t have a procedure where it goes to the president for signature. It doesn’t have to go to the House.”
Paul also revealed that this would not be his first effort to persuade federal prosecutors to investigate Fauci.
According to the Kentucky senator, he previously submitted two criminal referrals during the Biden administration alleging that Fauci lied to Congress and improperly destroyed records.
“I myself have individually referred him in the past for prosecution,” Paul said.
“I sent two letters saying that he destroyed records and he lied to Congress, both felonies.”
Paul added that he has also forwarded information to the Trump administration’s Department of Justice.
“I’ve also sent it to the Trump DOJ twice,” he said.
“I’ve sent information and evidence saying it did so.”
The senator suggested that if the committee approves the contempt resolution, lawmakers could choose to send it directly to the Justice Department rather than waiting for action by the full Senate.
Paul’s comments followed a contentious Senate hearing earlier Wednesday in which Fauci appeared under subpoena to testify about the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before questioning began, Fauci delivered an opening statement accusing Republicans of attempting to build a criminal case against him rather than conduct legitimate congressional oversight.
Acting on the advice of his attorneys, Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
During the hearing, Fauci declined to answer more than 100 substantive questions involving pandemic policies, National Institutes of Health funding, coronavirus research, lockdown decisions and vaccine guidance.
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Paul argued that Americans deserve answers regarding decisions made during the pandemic and criticized Fauci’s refusal to testify.
The hearing also became heated when Paul directed that one of Fauci’s attorneys be removed after the attorney attempted to address the committee without being recognized by the chairman.
Democratic members defended Fauci’s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment, arguing that repeated public calls for criminal prosecution justified his decision to follow the advice of counsel.
They also contended that Republicans had already reached conclusions before the hearing began and were using the proceedings to reinforce those claims.
The hearing came shortly after Paul released more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s pandemic-era diary entries, which the senator argues raise additional questions about the federal government’s handling of COVID-19.
Fauci has denied wrongdoing and maintains that his diary entries are consistent with his previous public statements, Trending Politics
The committee is expected to consider the contempt resolution next week, after which lawmakers will decide whether to pursue the referral process Paul described, potentially placing the matter before the Department of Justice for review.
Trump Reacts After Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment 111 Times
President Donald Trump is weighing in after one of the most closely watched congressional hearings of the year, offering a nuanced response to a political and legal controversy that continues to fuel debate in Washington.
The president addressed both former President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon Dr. Anthony Fauci and Fauci’s decision to repeatedly invoke the Fifth Amendment during testimony before the Senate, drawing a distinction between the two issues.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said he respects Biden’s constitutional authority to pardon Fauci, even as he criticized the retired public health official for refusing to answer questions before Congress.
“The most powerful thing a president has, they say, is the power of pardon,” Trump said.
“So he was pardoned by Biden, and I respect that. I know how powerful it is.”
Biden issued Fauci a preemptive pardon on his final day in office, covering potential federal offenses committed between Jan. 1, 2014, and Jan. 19, 2025.
The pardon came roughly two years after Fauci retired following nearly four decades as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and after serving as one of the nation’s most recognizable public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While acknowledging the broad constitutional pardon power, Trump questioned whether Biden personally approved the action because of ongoing Republican concerns surrounding the former president’s use of an autopen.
“He probably didn’t sign this one,” Trump said.
“So, I can’t tell you what the law is.”
The president added that he has heard legal arguments suggesting additional documentation could become relevant if questions arise about how pardons were authorized.
“Maybe there’s something on the autopen,” Trump said.
“Other than that, the power of pardon is very powerful.”
Trump’s comments came only hours after Fauci testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
During the hearing, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times rather than answering questions from Republican lawmakers.
In his opening statement, Fauci argued the hearing was politically motivated and accused committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul of seeking to build a criminal case against him.
“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,'” Fauci said.
Before the hearing began, Paul released thousands of pages of Fauci’s diary entries spanning 2019 through 2022, covering much of the federal government’s response to the pandemic.
Following the hearing, Paul announced he intends to ask the committee to vote next week on holding Fauci in contempt of Congress.
Trump sharply criticized Fauci’s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
“Terrible,” the president said when asked about the testimony.
Trump also reflected on Fauci’s long government career, noting that he was already serving in federal office decades before Trump entered politics.
“I inherited Fauci,” Trump said.
“He was here from the 1980s.”
The president reiterated that he frequently disagreed with Fauci’s recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would’ve had to close down the whole country if I listened to him,” Trump said.
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The Senate committee is expected to consider Paul’s proposed contempt resolution in the coming days, The Hill
Meanwhile, questions surrounding Fauci’s testimony, Biden’s pardon and the legal implications of presidential pardons are likely to remain central topics as congressional Republicans continue investigating the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
