Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate hearing, refuses to answer questions on Wuhan lab research

Published Jul 29, 03:50 PM UTC

At a Senate Homeland Security and Government Committee hearing chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, former NIAID director Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid answering questions about gain-of-function research funded by his agency at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fauci cited Sen. Paul's 'obsession' with prosecuting him and the release of his personal diary as reasons for refusing to testify. Despite receiving a pardon from President Joe Biden covering conduct since 2014, Fauci declined to answer questions. The hearing focused on inconsistencies between Fauci's past denials that NIAID funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan and his own diary entries from early 2020, which show he took seriously the possibility that lab research could have created SARS-CoV-2. Fauci's attorney was removed from the hearing room after attempting to speak on his behalf.