Anthony Fauci refused to answer questions at a tense US Senate hearing on the origins of Covid-19, saying he feared Republicans would use his testimony to pursue allegations of perjury. Speaking on Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) invoked the Fifth Amendment, which protects people from being compelled to give evidence against themselves in criminal cases. Fifth Amendment RefusalFauci, 85, told senators: “Under the advice of my attorneys,” he would invoke his right under the Fifth Amendment to refrain from responding. He said the decision followed concern that contradicting himself under oath could create legal exposure, noting he had previously testified about Covid and its origin at several congressional hearings. He added that taking the Fifth Amendment is not an admission of guilt and is meant to guard against coercion and mistakes, as well as shifting the burden of proof onto an individual. Fauci also acknowledged that former President Joe Biden granted him a pre-emptive pardon, protecting him from federal prosecution for actions taken between 2014 and 2025. He said the protection would not necessarily extend beyond that period, leaving open the possibility of charges after the date of the pardon, including under state or local law. Contempt Vote and Possible ProbeSenator Rand Paul, a Republican and chairman of the hearing, continued questioning Fauci after his refusal. Paul invited Fauci to “apologise” and said the committee would vote next week on a resolution holding Fauci in contempt of Congress. Republicans have repeatedly accused Fauci of withholding information about the pandemic from the public and of misstating the risks during the crisis. Fauci has denied wrongdoing and previously described the allegations as “simply preposterous”. One of Paul’s lines of questioning focused on guidance that changed during the pandemic as officials learned more about the virus. Fauci had defended his earlier positions. Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, attempted to interject during Paul’s questioning and was removed from the room. After the hearing, Schertler called it “outrageous” for Paul to exclude counsel when making what he described as a legitimate legal point, saying it reflected “the baseless and vindictive nature of this proceeding”. Following the hearing, Florida’s Republican attorney general said he would open an investigation into Fauci. Senator Ron Johnson, also a Republican, said he would seek to subpoena Fauci in an effort to require him to answer senators’ questions. Democrats defended Fauci, including Senator Maggie Hassan, who said the hearing was “designed to entrap” him. Paul, Trump Trade AccusationsDuring the hearing, President Donald Trump posted on social media calling Fauci “crazy”. Trump said he had insisted from the start that the virus came from the Wuhan laboratory in China and that Fauci had “strongly disagreed”, portraying it as an attempt to protect China. The origins of Covid-19 have been a longstanding point of contention in the US, with Trump, who was in office when the outbreak emerged in 2020, clashing with public health officials including Fauci. In Wednesday’s hearing, Paul suggested that although Fauci had publicly said the virus originated naturally, Paul believed Fauci privately thought it began in a medical laboratory. Paul has promoted what is often called the lab-leak theory, linking the virus to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The World Health Organization said in 2025 that the natural-origins theory—spillover from animals to people—was the “best supported” explanation based on available evidence, but that until more information emerges, determining the origin remains “inconclusive”. Diary Entries Revisit Origins DebateEarlier this week, Paul released diary entries from Fauci’s pandemic era. In the entries, Fauci reflected on fame and discussed Covid origins, indicating that early on he considered both natural origins and a lab leak, before appearing to become more convinced the virus had a natural origin. In one note from February 2020 about a call between Covid scientists, Fauci said doctors did not have “total agreement” on where the virus came from. He later wrote he was “almost certain” the virus evolved through a species jump while still keeping an open mind about a possible lab leak, and that two alternatives being possible did not mean they were equally probable. Fauci has received death threats during and after the pandemic and Trump removed his security protection last year. He was also one of the most trusted figures in the US response during the crisis, and in 2021 Trump awarded him a presidential commendation for his work on the Covid vaccine project known as Operation Warp Speed. Join the discussion? 30 July 2026
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