Live updates: Senate committee to vote on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress
Sen. Rand Paul said the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee does not need a full Senate vote to refer Dr. Anthony Fauci to the Department of Justice for contempt charges.
Paul, who chairs the committee, said the panel would immediately send to the DOJ the results of the vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt after the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases invoked the Fifth Amendment throughout his testimony before the panel last week.
He did not forecast whether the panel would have the votes to hold Fauci in contempt.
“We don’t do charging, the Department of Justice does. If we win the vote on Thursday my plan is to send it to the Department of Justice,” he told CNN.
Pressed on why the full Senate wouldn’t need to vote on the measure, Paul said, “Because it’s not a law. There’s no ‘have to’; it’s always a suggestion, even if the whole Senate passes it, it’s a suggestion.”
He added that the committee would have a legal brief with the DOJ, “making the argument that he can’t plead the Fifth under a pardon, and that he’s obstructing an investigation still, and we’ll see what DOJ thinks.”
Remember: On his way out of office, President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for Fauci and others targeted by incoming President Donald Trump.
Paul argued the contempt charge would be “equivalent to obstruction.”
“We’re in the middle an investigation, we’d like him to answer questions. We think the pardon grants immunity, all he has to do is come and tell the truth. So we’ll see what happens,” the Kentucky Republican said.
