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Lawmakers accuse Dr. Fauci of invoking Fifth Amendment repeatedly, call for accountability
Summary
At a Senate Committee hearing, multiple lawmakers accused Dr. Fauci of invoking the Fifth Amendment many times and of lying to both the public and the committee, framing his invocation as inconsistent with prior testimony and raising questions of obstruction and public trust.
At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, lawmakers sharply criticized Dr. Fauci for invoking his Fifth Amendment rights and questioned whether that invocation was consistent with his prior record of testimony.
One lawmaker opened the exchange by asking, "Senator Marino, why do you suspect Fauci's pleading the 5th after testifying 200 plus times before?" and stated that "Doctor Fauci invoked his 5th Amendment rights 111 times." That speaker framed the invocation as surprising given the witness's history of testimony.
A second lawmaker accused the subject of conduct that could constitute legal obstruction, stating, "It's against the law to obstruct," without elaborating further in the provided excerpt. A third lawmaker leveled direct personal accusations, saying, "You became a narcissist, a megalomaniac, and a liar, And you've lied to the American people, and you've lied to this body," and arguing the subject had prioritized publicity: "You could sit for InStyle magazine and get 1000000 bucks ... but now the cat's got your tongue."
Those speakers framed their concerns both as legal (obstruction, invocation of rights) and ethical (dishonesty, self-promotion). The transcript excerpt includes no recorded defense or rebuttal from the person being accused or from other witnesses in this passage.
The committee exchange mixed legal language with pointed political rhetoric; one lawmaker urged the public to watch clips of colleagues 'doting on a guy who was more interested in being a celebrity than saving American people.' The transcript excerpt ends with lawmakers continuing to characterize prior statements as harmful to public health and trust.
The session excerpt provided does not record any motions, votes, or formal findings. Next procedural steps or any formal referrals were not specified in the transcript fragment.
