{"id":3165,"date":"2026-07-29T14:04:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3165"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:04:24","slug":"watch-live-fauci-invokes-fifth-amendment-and-declines-to-testify-in-republican-led-covid-19-senate-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3165","title":{"rendered":"Watch live: Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment and declines to testify in Republican-led COVID-19 Senate hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and ALI SWENSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014\u00a0Dr. Anthony Fauci\u00a0on Wednesday invoked\u00a0the Fifth Amendment\u00a0and declined to answer questions from senators in a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>

Read more Denver City Council weighs new \u2018slavery acknowledgement\u2019 that would be read at start of meetings<\/a><\/p>\n

The move injects new drama into the lingering tensions between Fauci and Republican lawmakers over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and accusations he lied about\u00a0the origins of COVID-19, which he denies.<\/p>\n

Fauci was set to answer lawmakers\u2019 questions after being subpoenaed by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has long had a fraught relationship with the now-retired infectious-disease expert and led the charge seeking that he testify, again, under oath about his role in containing\u00a0the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Fauci\u2019s decision to invoke the Fifth, at least for now, sidesteps calls for his prosecution if he is accused of lying at Wednesday\u2019s hearing, part of a yearslong campaign for his arrest spearheaded by some Republicans in Congress. But it may also further inflame partisan divides that have festered for years about the origins and handling of the pandemic, which was\u00a0declared by the World Health Organization\u00a0in March 2020.<\/p>\n

Fauci, who helped lead the nation\u2019s COVID-19 response, has become\u00a0a target of those frustrations. But to his supporters he is an emblem of sound scientific expertise.<\/p>\n

In his opening statement, Fauci said Paul has an \u201cobvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this Committee is to prompt me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, \u2018behind bars,\u2019\u201d Fauci said, adding that while it pains him to do so, he is following his attorney\u2019s advice by taking the Fifth.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n