Anthony Fauci has declined to appear for a second congressional testimony before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee following a vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), the chairman of the committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, announced on Friday that Fauci’s lawyers informed him that the former top White House medical advisor in the COVID-19 pandemic “refuses to appear for a private transcribed interview” before his subcommittee. Johnson said that taxpayers “deserve answers to legitimate questions regarding our miserably failed response to COVID-19.”
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“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,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s announcement comes two weeks after Fauci “pled the Fifth” in response to every question when he sat before Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and the Senate homeland security committee, drawing sharp backlash from Republicans who pressed the former public health official for answers, specifically pointing to several entries in his personal diaries that the committee made public. Many GOP Senators, but especially Paul, have long criticized Fauci over his handling of the pandemic.
According to a new letter reported by outlets like the Associated Press, Fauci’s lawyers, David Schertler and Danny Onorato, wrote to Johnson that any effort to have Fauci testify again would equate to a move to “impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes.” The attorneys argued that Fauci has already answered Congress’s questions “honestly and transparently” during prior testimonies, according to the Epoch Times.
But Johnson appeared not convinced by the letter, alleging in his X statement that Fauci “has a lot to hide.”
“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,” Johnson wrote of Fauci.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee voted along party lines in early August to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for pleading the Fifth over 100 times during his July testimony, with the Republican Senators saying his blanket pardon from President Joe Biden should have allowed him to answer questions under oath.
After Fauci’s July testimony, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened an investigation into the doctor for what he called Fauci’s “unbelievable” “lack of candor to Congress.” Paul also said he would share information with Uthmeier to assist with the state’s investigation.
Johnson has also been central to the GOP’s criticism of Fauci, recently publicly releasing multiple text messages from Fauci’s government phone.
