Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate Origins Hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, refusing to answer questions before a Republican-led Senate committee investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Appearing under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Fauci stated he was acting on the advice of his attorneys, marking the first time in his decades of public service that he has taken such a step.

In his opening statement, Fauci said it pained him to refuse to answer, citing his long history of cooperation with Congress. He argued the hearing was not legitimate oversight but was instead driven by the personal agenda of committee chairman Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Fauci accused Paul of having an "unhinged obsession" with seeing him prosecuted and said the release of over a thousand pages of his personal pandemic-era diary by Paul's office was an act intended to intimidate and embarrass him. He concluded that the sole reason for the hearing was to get him to say something that could vindicate Paul's repeated public pledges...