The 5 most shocking moments from Anthony Faucis Senate COVIID testimony

Dr.Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stunned Republican senators on Wednesday when he refused to answer their questions about the COVID-19 pandemic by invoking his Fifth Amendment right at the start of a congressional hearing.Unlike other instances of witnesses taking the Fifth, however, that wasn’t the end of the hearing, as GOP and Democratic members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee continued quizzing Fauci for under four hours.Republicans, led by Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), demanded answers on the origins of the pandemic, inconsistencies related to his public remarks on COVID mandates versus his private comments and his support for funding for risky “gain of function” research abroad that can make viruses more infectious.Democrats used their time on the dais to reflect on the “biased” nature of the proceedings, with Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and others calling out Paul for excluding them from preparations for the hearing and other investigative work by the committee’s majority.At its conclusion, Paul announced that his committee would begin contempt of Congress proceedings against Fauci next week and questioned whether a sweeping pardon former President Joe Biden granted his former White House COVID czar in January 2025.“Dr.

Fauci isn’t liable for anything as long as he tells the truth, even if he admits that he destroyed records on a routine basis,” Paul suggested, adding that the ex-NIAID official “can’t be prosecuted for many of the things that are outside the statute of limitations as well.”Here’s the five most shocking moments that occurred during Fauci’s appearance:Fauci took the Fifth at least 111 times to questions that would have teased out critical information about the origins of the COVID pandemic and US funding for gain-of-function research in China.In another startling example, Paul asked Fauci whether the CIA had ever funded NIAID — before...