Senate Committee to Vote on Holding Fauci in Contempt After Fifth Amendment Testimony

Today’s Focus

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on a resolution to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in contempt of Congress, according to reporting from NPR and The Hill.

The vote follows a July 29 hearing at which Fauci, appearing under subpoena, repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Fox News reported he did so more than 100 times when questioned about the federal pandemic response, gain-of-function research funding, and internal NIAID communications.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has led the push for contempt charges. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who chairs the Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, confirmed through a spokesperson that his panel has obtained a copy of Fauci’s HHS-issued iPhone, according to Fox News Digital.

Whether investigators can access encrypted data on the device remains unclear, the outlet reported.

The Hill reported the resolution’s fate depends on whether it can hold Republican votes on the committee and, if reported out, whether Senate leadership brings it to the floor. A criminal contempt referral would require a majority vote in the full Senate before being transmitted to the Justice Department, which decides whether to prosecute.

Fauci served as NIAID director from 1984 until his retirement in December 2022 and advised seven presidents. He has denied wrongdoing in past appearances and received a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden in January 2025 covering official acts during his federal service. Legal scholars cited by The Hill note the pardon does not shield him from state charges or from contempt for conduct after leaving office, including his testimony last week.

The Debate

Supporters argue

Republicans backing the resolution say Fauci’s blanket refusal to answer questions is itself the problem. Paul told Fox News that a witness under subpoena cannot decline to explain his official conduct to Congress and expect no consequence, arguing accountability for pandemic-era decisions has been delayed for years.

Johnson’s office framed the acquisition of the HHS phone as part of a broader records probe into how NIAID communicated about the virus’s origins and about grants to EcoHealth Alliance. Supporters point to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic’s 2024 final report, which recommended further investigation of Fauci’s role in shaping the “proximal origin” paper on COVID-19’s origins.

Conservative commentators at the Heritage Foundation have argued Congress has both the authority and the duty to compel testimony from senior officials, and that a Biden pardon should not translate into permanent immunity from oversight. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said on the Senate floor last week, according to The Hill, that “the American people deserve answers under oath,” and that a contempt vote is the appropriate next step when a witness stonewalls.

Critics argue

Democrats and civil-liberties advocates counter that invoking the Fifth Amendment is a constitutional right, not evidence of guilt or contempt. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the committee’s ranking member, told NPR that punishing a witness for asserting a protected right would set a dangerous precedent for future congressional hearings.

The American Civil Liberties Union has said in prior statements that contempt referrals aimed at witnesses who plead the Fifth risk chilling testimony across the federal workforce. Fauci’s attorney, Jeffrey Zients, told The Hill his client cooperated with more than 14 hours of prior transcribed interviews and turned over thousands of pages of records, and that renewed questioning is designed to generate a criminal referral rather than gather new facts.

Critics also point to Biden’s preemptive pardon, which they say covers the underlying conduct at issue. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), speaking to Politico earlier this summer, called the effort “a political show trial dressed up as oversight,” and argued Republicans are relitigating pandemic decisions the courts and inspectors general have already reviewed.

What the experts say

Contempt of Congress is rarely prosecuted. A 2017 Congressional Research Service report found that of the dozens of contempt citations issued since 1975, the Justice Department has brought criminal charges in only a handful, and convictions are rarer still. The last successful prosecution was of Trump adviser Steve Bannon in 2022; Peter Navarro was convicted in 2023. Both cases involved witnesses who refused to appear at all, not witnesses who appeared and invoked the Fifth.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, has written that courts have long held the Fifth Amendment applies fully in congressional proceedings, citing Quinn v. United States (1955). Turley has said a contempt charge premised on invocation of the privilege would face substantial constitutional hurdles.

The Brennan Center for Justice notes that presidential pardons cover federal offenses committed before the pardon is issued, meaning Biden’s January 2025 grant would not apply to Fauci’s July 2026 testimony. Any contempt exposure from last week’s hearing sits outside the pardon’s reach, according to a Brennan Center analysis published in February.

By the Numbers

100+: number of times Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment at the July 29 committee hearing, according to Fox News.
14: hours of prior transcribed interviews Fauci gave to House investigators in 2024, according to a statement from his attorney cited by The Hill.
38 years: length of Fauci’s tenure as NIAID director, from 1984 to 2022, per NIH records.
7: number of U.S. presidents Fauci advised during his federal career, per NIH biographical materials.
2: successful criminal contempt of Congress prosecutions since 1975, both in the last four years (Bannon, Navarro), according to Congressional Research Service data.
January 2025: date President Biden issued a preemptive pardon covering Fauci’s official conduct, per White House records.
1955: year the Supreme Court ruled in Quinn v. United States that the Fifth Amendment applies in congressional hearings, per the U.S. Reports.