Democrats Refused to Look Into Fauci, Now the DOJ Can

Dr. Anthony Fauci could now be charged by the Department of Justice for refusing to answer congressional questions regarding claims that he knowingly funded the lab that created the COVID-19 virus, lied about the origin of COVID-19, and contributed to the spread. Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee successfully held Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer their questions during last week’s hearing.

The Department of Justice told the Daily Signal, “[W]e have received the document, we are reviewing it, and will work with the Senate accordingly,” and that they “seriously review all congressional referrals.” 

The committee, led by Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted 8-7 along party lines on Thursday morning to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, saying he did not have the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment during last week’s hearing.

Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, spent three hours avoiding self-incrimination by refusing to answer questions from senators. However, with a sweeping 12-year pardon from President Joe Biden, some Republicans say he had no right to invoke the Fifth Amendment. 

“All he had to do was tell the truth more than 100 times. Though he refused,” Paul said during the meeting. “The chair ruled that Dr. Fauci’s assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege was unsupported in light of the pardon and the testimony he offered in his opening statement.” 

“He’s been evading this for a long time,” Paul told reporters. “The level of dishonesty is really unparalleled.” 

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Paul continued, sharing that the committee will “hand-deliver” the referral to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Washington, D.C., U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro, today. The DOJ has the referral and says it will review it and work with the Senate accordingly.

When asked if Paul has been in touch with the DOJ and if he expects it to take up the matter, the Kentucky senator said that he “think[s] it’s important for them to look at, and then that’ll be their choice whether to look at it.” 

Democrats on the committee delayed the vote multiple times, requesting to table or postpone it until it could be taken to the full Senate. One of the claims Ranking Member Gary Peters, D-Mich., made was that Democrats have not seen any of the 1 million pages of evidence Paul and Republicans have been referring to. 

Democrats are “not interested in reviewing the documents,” Paul said in response to Peters. 

Paul stated that Democrats have had access to the documents for over a year and have been told all they need to do is ask the committee staff for a password to the classified folder. However, Paul says not one Democrat has asked for the password. 

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told reporters that Democrats “need to pull their heads out of the sand,” and that “you cannot trust the self-proclaimed experts,” like Fauci. 

Congress is set to continue the investigation into Fauci. As first reported by The Wall Street Journal Wednesday night, Johnson obtained Fauci’s phone, a federal device that he used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The phone was given to Johnson, and his Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, by the Department of Health and Human Services. 

“I don’t know what’s going to be revealed,” Johnson told reporters after the vote, but he said he will be looking for “more evidence on how he lied to the American public.”