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Dr. Anthony Fauci’s fight on Capitol Hill may not be over yet, a top House Republican signaled after the former public health official pleaded the Fifth Amendment over 100 times during an intense Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“If former President Biden’s blanket autopen pardon is valid, then Dr. Fauci has no right to refuse to answer questions,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said after the hearing.
“Dr. Fauci clearly knows his autopen pardon is on legally questionable grounds and decided to protect himself today rather than provide the truth to the American people.”
FAUCI PLEADS FIFTH WITH ‘ZERO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION’ AS CRITICS ERUPT AND DEMAND CONTEMPT CHARGES
Fauci appeared before a Senate GOP-led panel on Wednesday amid new scrutiny over how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic, following the release of a diary he kept during the global health crisis.
Comer accused former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra of withholding Fauci’s diary from the House Oversight Committee during the Biden administration, but said Fauci could be facing new questions after its release.
“Based on the release of Dr. Fauci’s diary, which should have been provided to the House Oversight Committee last Congress but was withheld by then-HHS Secretary Becerra, we’ll be asking Dr. Fauci whether he stands by his previous testimony to our Committee. Dr. Fauci’s actions and lies caused irreparable harm to Americans, and he must face accountability,” Comer said.
FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED
Diary entries made public by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a longtime Fauci critic and chair of the committee before which Fauci is appearing on Wednesday, showed the high-profile doctor reflecting on his pandemic-era fame and discussing the disease’s origins.
Some entries appeared to show Fauci taking credit for influencing policies that closed schools during the pandemic, one of the most hotly debated aspects of how the government handled COVID.
He told the House Oversight Committee in January 2024, however, “I did not close the schools.”
EXCLUSIVE: BIDEN PARDON WON’T SHIELD FAUCI IF HE LIES TO CONGRESS, COMER SAYS
Comer warned Fauci ahead of the hearing that the pardon former President Joe Biden issued him in the final hours of his administration would likely not shield him Wednesday.
“Americans are still reaping the consequences of Dr. Fauci’s actions. Biden’s pardon doesn’t cover Dr. Fauci’s testimony this week, and if he continues to lie, he must be held accountable,” Comer exclusively told Fox News Digital.
Fauci was among several recipients of controversial “preemptive pardons” by Biden at the 11th hour of his White House term.
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The pardon covers any offenses from January 1, 2014, through its issue date, or any offense related “to his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House COVID-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.”
But because the pardon covers conduct during his government service, there will likely be debate over whether it would protect him from liability stemming from his Wednesday testimony.
Paul said his committee would vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress next week. A contempt of Congress charge, if found guilty following Justice Department prosecution, would carry a fine of up to $100,000 and a prison sentence of up to one year.
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