Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime federal infectious-disease expert and former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination more than 100 times during a tense Senate hearing on July 29. The nearly three-hour session, held by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, focused on Fauci’s role in the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations surrounding the origins of the coronavirus.

Republican senators, led by committee chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), grilled Fauci on various topics, including whether the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China; the funding of gain-of-function research there; and Fauci’s pandemic management decisions, including lockdowns and vaccine policies. Paul accused Fauci of lying under oath in previous congressional testimony, characterizing his actions as contributory to what he called “the largest man-made plague in history.” Paul also criticized Fauci for allegedly using his position for personal gain and for obscuring critical details during the pandemic’s early stages.

Fauci, 85, retired from government service at the end of 2022 and had been pardoned in early 2025 by President Joe Biden for potential offenses committed between January 2014 and January 2025. However, Paul and others questioned whether this pardon shields Fauci from legal consequences related to alleged false testimony in the current hearing. Fauci stated he was taking the Fifth on the advice of counsel, asserting that the committee’s pursuit was an attempt to entrap him and culminate in wrongful prosecution. He described Paul’s campaign against him as an “unhinged obsession” aimed at placing him “behind bars.”

The hearing grew contentious as Paul ejected Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, after repeated attempts to intervene during questioning. Republican senators expressed deep frustration and anger, with some accusing Fauci of being dishonest, responsible for unnecessarily harsh pandemic restrictions, and damaging public trust in health institutions. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) mockingly questioned Fauci with simple inquiries, all met by Fauci’s refusal to answer.

Democratic senators largely defended Fauci, praising his decades-long service through multiple public health crises before the pandemic. They characterized the hearing as politically motivated, designed to harass Fauci rather than seek genuine oversight. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) said the process was intended to entrap Fauci, while Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) described the hearing as part of an effort to rewrite the history of the pandemic. Some Democrats criticized the broader Republican shift toward questioning public health officials amid rising vaccine skepticism and institutional distrust.

The hearing also spotlighted Fauci’s recently released personal diaries from the pandemic years, which were disclosed publicly by Sen. Paul ahead of the session. Some entries indicate Fauci privately acknowledged uncertainty about the virus’s origin and his role in recommending lockdowns, contradicting some of his earlier public statements.

Sen. Paul announced plans for a committee vote on August 5 to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for his refusal to testify fully. Legal experts and some senators noted uncertainty about how the Biden pardon interacts with contempt proceedings and whether Fauci’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment is valid following his public opening statement. The partisan divisions underscored the long-standing politicization of the pandemic response and the ongoing debate over accountability for COVID-19’s devastating impact, which has resulted in over 1.2 million deaths in the United States as of mid-2026.