Bill Maher blasts Rand Paul for releasing Faucis COVID diaries

Comedian Bill Maher is taking aim at Sen.Rand Paul for what the host says betrays Paul’s own brand.During Friday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Time,” Maher accused Paul, R-Ky., of breaking with his libertarian views by releasing Fauci’s pandemic-era diary and threatening to hold him in contempt of Congress.Meanwhile, a public relations expert told Fox News Digital that Paul should focus on why the diary matters rather than how he obtained it.“Stop threatening to put everyone in jail who you just don’t like,” Maher said more broadly about politics. “Rand, babe, your entire brand is ‘Senator Right to Privacy,’” he added.

“You’re the libertarian guy, the Fourth Amendment guy.It’s your family legacy.”Maher made the comments after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which is led by Paul, voted 8-5 to refer Fauci for contempt after he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a Senate hearing regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic last week.Fauci, who received a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden, exercised his right against self-incrimination a total of 111 times during the hearing while being questioned over his leadership as the White House chief medical advisor during the pandemic.In the days before the hearing, Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s private “COVID diaries,” medical notes and personal reflections Fauci wrote and stored on his government computer.The move was blasted by Maher, who argued Paul’s decision to publish the documents directly contradicted his longtime political platform of personal privacy and limited government intrusion.“Your entire political career has been about warning us about government overreach,” Maher said, speaking directly to Paul.

“You printing someone’s diary? It’s like [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] wearing a gown that says, ‘Tax the poor.’”Fauci’s diaries were located and stored on government servers. Jason ...