A U.S. Senate committee voted on Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after the former top U.S. infectious disease official refused to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held the vote one week after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times when he appeared before the panel.
“We are voting on whether a witness who has received the benefit of a sweeping federal pardon can be ordered by this committee to answer questions and then defy that order without consequence,” committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), said in his opening statement at the meeting.
Paul said that constitutional protection did not apply since Fauci last year received a pardon from Democratic President Joe Biden and thus did not have to worry about the threat of prosecution. Fauci and Democrats who opposed the contempt resolution say he had a well-founded fear of self-incrimination given a public desire by Republicans to seek his prosecution.
Fauci told the panel Paul had summoned him only to force testimony backing the senator's repeated public pledges to see him imprisoned.
A representative for Fauci could not immediately be reached for comment.
The committee can refer the contempt of Congress resolution directly to the Justice Department or request that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) hold a full Senate vote.
A contempt referral typically must be approved by a congressional committee and then the full Senate, which would likely need a 60-vote majority, requiring Democratic support, highly unlikely given the party's defense of Fauci.
But Paul has suggested that vote may be unnecessary, telling Fox News he could send the referral directly to the Justice Department with a legal brief.
Paul's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If the referral proceeds, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, run by Trump ally Jeanine Pirro, would review it and decide whether to seek a grand jury indictment.
Fauci also faces state-level scrutiny, with Louisiana joining Florida and Alabama in investigating his pandemic conduct. A federal pardon does not preclude state charges.