A Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress following his Fifth Amendment testimony.
WASHINGTON — A Republican-led Senate committee voted Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, escalating a long-running battle over his role in the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the investigation into the virus’s origins.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the contempt resolution 8-7 along party lines on August 6. The vote came roughly a week after Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination while appearing before the committee.
The distinction is important: Fauci was not found in contempt of court. The action came from a congressional committee and involves contempt of Congress, a separate legal process.
Fauci Invoked the Fifth More Than 100 Times
Fauci appeared before the Senate committee on July 29 after Chairman Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky subpoenaed him as part of an investigation involving COVID-19, pandemic-era government decisions and questions surrounding the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
During the hearing, Fauci declined to answer the committee’s substantive questions.
Reports said he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during the proceeding.
At the beginning of his testimony, Fauci explained that his attorneys had advised him to invoke his constitutional rights.
Fauci argued that Paul’s repeated public calls for his prosecution left him concerned that anything he said before the committee could expose him to new criminal allegations. He accused Paul of pursuing what he described as an “unhinged obsession” with putting him behind bars.
Paul strongly rejected that argument.
Rand Paul Says Fauci Cannot Use the Fifth
One of the central legal disputes involves the sweeping preemptive pardon former President Joe Biden issued Fauci before leaving office in January 2025.
Paul argues that because Fauci received a federal pardon covering conduct connected with his government service during the covered period, Fauci no longer faces the possibility of prosecution for those acts. Therefore, Paul contends, Fauci cannot legitimately claim that answering questions about them might incriminate him.
“The Fifth Amendment doesn’t apply if you can’t be prosecuted,” has effectively been the committee majority’s position.
However, Fauci’s attorneys argue the situation is more complicated.
They contend Fauci could potentially face accusations based on new statements made after the pardon, including allegations involving false statements to Congress or other conduct outside the pardon’s scope. That possibility, his legal team argues, gives him legitimate grounds to invoke his Fifth Amendment protections.
The Contempt Vote
Thursday’s committee vote followed party lines, with Republicans supporting the resolution and Democrats opposing it.
Paul has argued that Congress cannot effectively conduct investigations if witnesses can simply refuse to answer subpoenaed questions.
Democrats counter that Congress should not punish a witness merely for exercising a constitutional protection when that witness reasonably believes testimony could create criminal exposure.
The fight could now move beyond the committee.
According to reporting from Reuters and the Associated Press, the matter can be referred to the Department of Justice, which would ultimately determine whether to pursue a criminal contempt case.
A contempt vote itself does not mean Fauci has been convicted of a crime.
Biden’s Fauci Pardon Complicates the Case
Biden issued Fauci a preemptive pardon during his final hours in office in January 2025.
At the time, Biden said the action should not be viewed as an admission that Fauci had committed wrongdoing. Instead, he said the pardon was intended to protect public servants from what he viewed as politically motivated investigations or prosecutions.
Fauci had become one of the most polarizing figures of the pandemic.
For supporters, the longtime infectious-disease expert represented science-based public health leadership during an unprecedented global emergency.
For critics, Fauci became a symbol of controversial pandemic policies involving lockdowns, masking, vaccination recommendations and federal research funding.
The pardon has now created an unusual constitutional argument.
Republicans say the pardon removes Fauci’s risk of prosecution for covered conduct and therefore weakens his Fifth Amendment claim.
Fauci’s attorneys say lawmakers themselves have raised the prospect of pursuing new criminal charges, meaning his exposure may extend beyond whatever conduct Biden’s pardon covered.
COVID Origins Remain at the Center of the Fight
Paul and Fauci have clashed publicly for years over COVID-19.
Their confrontations date back to pandemic-era Senate hearings in which Paul questioned Fauci about U.S.-funded coronavirus research involving the Wuhan Institute of Virology and whether any research met definitions associated with gain-of-function experiments.
Fauci repeatedly disputed Paul’s characterization of the research.
Those disagreements eventually became part of a much larger debate over whether COVID-19 emerged through natural animal-to-human transmission or resulted from a laboratory-related incident.
The intelligence community has remained divided over the precise origins of the pandemic, while congressional Republicans have continued investigating federal funding, research oversight and communications among scientists and government officials.
Thursday’s contempt vote shows that those questions remain politically and legally alive years after the pandemic began.
Fauci’s COVID-Era Phone Has Also Been Obtained
The investigation could broaden further.
A Senate panel has also obtained a copy of an iPhone used by Fauci during the COVID era, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
The phone was transferred by the Department of Health and Human Services as congressional investigators continue seeking communications and records related to Fauci’s government service.
Investigators have also examined journals, emails and other records connected with Fauci.
What information, if any, the phone ultimately provides remains unclear.
What Happens Next?
The contempt resolution potentially puts the dispute in the hands of the Justice Department.
Criminal contempt of Congress can arise when an individual willfully refuses to comply with a lawful congressional demand. But Fauci’s Fifth Amendment claim creates a significant constitutional issue that would likely become central to any prosecution.
A court could ultimately have to consider whether Fauci had a valid fear of criminal exposure despite Biden’s pardon and whether Congress could compel him to answer the questions at issue.
For now, Thursday’s vote represents a major escalation — but not a criminal conviction and not a court judgment against Fauci.
The committee has declared him in contempt of Congress. Whether that decision produces an actual prosecution remains to be seen.
The Bottom Line
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s years-long confrontation with congressional Republicans has entered a new phase.
After invoking the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a Senate hearing, Fauci has now been held in contempt by the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Republicans argue that Biden’s pardon eliminated Fauci’s ability to invoke the Fifth regarding covered conduct. Fauci’s attorneys maintain that threats of new prosecution give him legitimate reason to protect himself.
The next question is whether the dispute remains a congressional confrontation — or becomes a federal criminal case.
This is a developing story.
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