Fauci Refuses to Testify Before Senate Probe

Dr. Anthony Fauci declined a request to appear voluntarily for a private interview before a Senate subcommittee investigating the federal response to COVID-19, according to a letter his attorneys sent on August 15. The refusal stalls a second parallel congressional inquiry into the former top U.S. infectious disease official.

In the letter, attorneys David Schertler and Danny Onorato wrote that Fauci had already answered questions honestly and transparently in prior congressional appearances and would not submit to another session. They argued that any effort to compel him would "immissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes." The attorneys noted Fauci and his family had faced harassment and death threats since a hearing the previous month.

The letter was addressed to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Johnson had sought the transcribed interview as part of a separate line of inquiry into the government's pandemic response, including vaccine safety and efficacy. In response, Johnson stated that Fauci "refuses to talk about his role and decisions related to COVID19," and that his subcommittee would continue...