{"id":2637211,"date":"2026-07-29T12:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rand-paul-to-hold-vote-on-holding-fauci-in-contempt-for-refusing-to-testify\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T12:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T16:11:47","slug":"rand-paul-to-hold-vote-on-holding-fauci-in-contempt-for-refusing-to-testify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rand-paul-to-hold-vote-on-holding-fauci-in-contempt-for-refusing-to-testify\/","title":{"rendered":"Rand Paul to hold vote on holding Fauci in contempt for refusing to testify"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frand-paul-to-hold-vote-on-holding-fauci-in-contempt-for-refusing-to-testify%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2637211&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Senate Homeland Security and governmental Affairs Committee, led by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), plans to hold a vote to hold Dr. anthony Fauci in contempt for refusing to testify about his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer questions, despite having received a blanket pardon from President Joe Biden. Senators discuss weather Fauci&#8217;s refusal and his invocation of legal privileges are appropriate, with some arguing that his pardon grants him immunity and that his prior open statements imply he waived certain rights. The controversy centers on whether fauci can be compelled to testify without risking legal consequences, with parallels drawn to past congressional disputes over invoking the Fifth Amendment. Fauci criticized Senator Paul, suggesting the questioning is politically motivated. republicans argue Fauci&#8217;s testimony would be safe if truthful, while Democrats and others consider the potential for contempt and legal challenges. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-republicans-file-for-reelection-despite-possible-disqualification\/\" title=\"Oregon ... seek reelection despite potential disqualification.\">situation reflects ongoing tensions<\/a> over accountability related to pandemic decisions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Senate panel chaired by Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rand-paul\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"230\">Rand Paul<\/a> (R-KY) will hold a vote on holding <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/anthony-fauci\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1404\">Dr. Anthony Fauci<\/a> in contempt for refusing to testify about his  actions during the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/covid-19\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11163\">COVID-19<\/a> pandemic, an escalation in the long-running battle between the two men.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul said he scheduled the vote in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee because Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer questions at a Wednesday hearing, even though he received a blanket pardon from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"471\">President Joe Biden<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4667556\/rand-paul-vote-holding-anthony-fauci-contempt\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Rand Paul to hold committee vote on holding Fauci in contempt for refusing to testify<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4661555\/big-beautiful-bill-medicaid-reforms-republican-pushback\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>How the Big Beautiful Bill became law: Medicaid battle intensifies<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4666624\/anthony-fauci-testifies-senate-what-know\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Fauci testifies before the Senate: What to know<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4667091\/fauci-pleads-fifth-amendment-covid-hearing-chaired-rand-paul\/\"><strong>FAUCI PLEADS FIFTH AMENDMENT IN COVID-19 HEARING CHAIRED BY RAND PAUL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause you refuse to answer, citing a privilege that is unsupported, because of your pardon, and after being denied to do so, this committee has scheduled a vote next week on a resolution certifying your contempt,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The citation will have to be voted out of committee before it will be referred to a full vote in the Senate. There, Democrats could block it via a filibuster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans argued Wednesday that Fauci had no reason not to testify as long as he did not lie, given that he had already received a pardon for any crimes possibly committed during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think there\u2019s another legal question that the courts may have to to decide upon, and that is whether or not a presidential pardon that offers you complete immunity, that you can still claim that you need protection from immunity when you\u2019ve been protected, because Dr. Fauci isn\u2019t liable for anything as long as he tells the truth,\u201d Paul said at the end of Wednesday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul said Fauci would be protected from prosecution \u201ceven if he admits that he destroyed records on a routine basis \u2014 his assistant said she destroyed a ton of emails.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul and Republicans also argued that Fauci effectively waived his Fifth Amendment rights by delivering an open statement at the hearing before refusing to answer questions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) noted the instance in which former IRS official Lois Lerner gave an opening statement and then tried to invoke the Fifth Amendment. She was subsequently held in contempt by the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe committee then held her in contempt for that, saying, \u2018You can\u2019t do both,&#8217;\u201d Lankford said. \u201c\u2018You can\u2019t both testify and say, \u201cI\u2019m not going to answer questions.\u201d\u2018 So the parliamentary question that I think we\u2019ve got to be able to deal with is: Is this consistent with Lois Lerner?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fauci said at the start of the hearing that he would not answer questions because \u201cthe only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason [Paul] is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, \u2018behind bars.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also said his attorneys advised him not to testify because of Paul\u2019s \u201cunhinged obsession\u201d regarding the alleged cover-up of U.S.-funded risky virus research.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul and Fauci have clashed for years at Senate hearings over the origins of the pandemic and Fauci\u2019s recommendations on vaccines, masking, and much more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4667224\/anthony-fauci-lawyer-removed-covid-19-hearing-rand-paul-interruptions\/\"><strong>RAND PAUL HAS FAUCI LAWYER REMOVED FROM COVID-19 HEARING OVER INTERRUPTIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Republicans maintained that Fauci would be on safe ground, legally, as long as his testimony was truthful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe should be held in contempt and every avenue pursued,\u201d Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) said in a text to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cQuestion I would ask \u2013 if he\u2019s pardoned- the only thing he could do wrong is lie. So what is he afraid of?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Naomi Lim contributed to this story. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate panel to vote on Fauci contempt over COVID testimony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2637212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26210466825953.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34558,83382,3774,4434,38952],"class_list":["post-2637211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-congressional-hearing","tag-contempt-vote-2","tag-covid-19","tag-fauci","tag-rand-paul"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26210466825953.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2637211"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2637215,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637211\/revisions\/2637215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2637212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2637211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2637211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2637211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}