Dr. Anthony Fauci is back in the hot seat on Wednesday as lawmakers hammered him with a flurry of questions about his COVID-era diary entries, his thoughts on the origins of COVID-19, and how he handled the pandemic.
Fauci refused to answer questions from members of a Senate committee at a hearing about his actions as the government’s top infectious disease expert during the COVID pandemic
In his opening statement, Fauci said he would exercise his 5th Amendment right to refuse to answer questions at the hearing and accused Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul of intending to catch him in a perjury trap.
Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson wasted little time tearing into Fauci.
On hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, and alleged “sabotage” of early treatments, Johnson declared, “You said there’s no evidence it’s helpful… There was ALL kinds of evidence! Loved ones had to sue hospitals just to try it. I’d want to know, to what extent were you involved in sabotaging hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin? Did you do that because it was the only way you’d get emergency use authorizations for experimental drugs!”
“I was just wondering whether it ever went through your mind that maybe … all those boosters you took might have caused that. This is actual government information,” Johnson added.
“I certainly understand why you needed a pardon. I certainly understand why, on the advice of counsel, you’re not answering any questions,” Johnson said, referring to Fauci invoking the 5th Amendment and his pre-emptive pardon from former President Joe Biden.
“I think it’d be almost impossible for you to answer the questions truthfully without really demonstrating what you did,” Johnson said.
“I hope the American people listen very carefully to Chairman Paul’s opening statement. I mean is a stunning indictment,” Johnson declared.
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Things got heated when Chairman Rand Paul removed one of Fauci’s lawyers from the hearing after the lawyer repeatedly talked over Paul to defend Fauci, even though he had not been invited to speak.
“You will respect these proceedings. You were told not to sit at the table. You insist on sitting at the table. And we told you you would not be recognized. You are not invited here for testimony, sir. You are being disruptive,” Paul declared.
“Would you behave this way in a courtroom? No, because the judge would put you in jail. I can’t do that today, but I can have you escorted from the premises,” Paul added.
“So I would say, sir, sit quietly and don’t say another word. I said sit quietly. You are not recognized. Another word and you’re gone,” Paul declared.
After another back-and-forth and the attorney’s refusal to listen, Paul then had security remove him from the room.
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Before the hearing, President Donald Trump lashed out at Fauci.
“Many more people died of Covid under the Biden Administration than under the Trump Administration. ‘Operation Warp Speed’ was a SPECTACULAR SUCCESS, in fact, many say, one of the most successful things ever done by an American President. I overrode Fauci on this. His ideas were CRAZY,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
“Also, I said from the beginning that the Virus came from the Wuhan Laboratory in China. Fauci strongly disagreed, always trying to protect China. I Inherited Fauci, who was there since the 1980’s, but with each passing day, relied less and less on him. He made too many bad calls, like on MASKS. Remember at the beginning he was an anti-masker. He then switched to a super-masker. In any event I didn’t let him shut the Country down, although he wanted to,” Trump continued.
“I went the Federalist way, and let the governors decide. The Republican governors did a much better job than the Dumocrats. Fauci was largely taken out of play, and then along came Sleepy Joe Biden, who made Fauci a ‘King!’ I called Biden to tell him Fauci was no good, either didn’t have a clue, or was dishonest. The call was well received, but sadly, not acted on. Biden went on to give Fauci vast destructive power. The rest is history!” he wrote.
