After He Was Found In Contempt, Fauci Once Again Thumbs His Nose At Congress: ‘A Lot To Hide’

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel after majority Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee voted along partisan lines last week to hold the longtime infectious disease expert in contempt.

In a pointed letter to Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, a lawyer for the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said any effort to compel him to appear before a Senate subcommittee, after a contentious July 29 hearing,would be to “impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes.”

During the July hearing on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 100 times, prompting the Aug. 6 contempt vote and setting up a referral to the Justice Department for potential investigation over whether he had properly exercised his constitutional rights.

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I don’t think that he can be degraded anymore than he already is!!!

— VCinOP (@PateforUSA) August 15, 2026

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Then here comes the subpoena!!!
What an evil corrupt person

— John Acosta (@JohnAco1955) August 15, 2026

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Dr. Fauci’s attorney has just notified us that Fauci refuses to appear for a private transcribed interview.

The American people deserve answers to legitimate questions regarding our miserably failed response to COVID-19. Some of those questions can only be answered by Dr. Fauci.…

— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) August 15, 2026

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Dr. Fauci’s attorney has just notified us that Fauci refuses to appear for a private transcribed interview.

The American people deserve answers to legitimate questions regarding our miserably failed response to COVID-19. Some of those questions can only be answered by Dr. Fauci. He arrogantly once stated that he was “very happy to testify before any congressional oversight committee. I have nothing to hide.”

Apparently, he has a lot to hide.

Since Fauci refuses to talk about his role and decisions related to COVID-19, my Subcommittee will continue to obtain his records and request to speak with key individuals that he worked with. We will explore our legal options before deciding our next steps.

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The vote approving the contempt resolution came a week after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, an episode that raised fresh legal questions about the ability of Congress to compel testimony from a previously pardoned witness.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the committee chairman who pressed for the contempt finding, said that constitutional protection did not apply because Fauci last year received a pardon from Democratic President Joe Biden and thus did not have to worry about the threat of prosecution.

“Dr. Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution,” Paul said at the outset of Thursday’s vote. “All he had to do was tell the truth.”

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Michigan Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer defends Anthony Fauci.

NEWSOM: What did you make of Fauci and all that?

WHITMER: "I feel bad for him, ya know?…people were trying to do the right thing with the information we had…" pic.twitter.com/ue9kZ67Tpp

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 14, 2026

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