Overview
- The Senate Homeland Security committee voted 8–7 on Thursday to declare Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt after he refused to answer questions more than 100 times by invoking the Fifth Amendment during a public hearing.
- Committee chair Rand Paul said he will refer the panel’s contempt resolution directly to the Department of Justice, a move that skips a full‑Senate vote and that legal experts expect will face procedural and constitutional challenges.
- Republican investigators say they now hold a backup copy of Fauci’s official government iPhone and portions of his diary that were provided by the Department of Health and Human Services and may use those records to press their case.
- At least one Republican state attorney general has opened a state‑level inquiry and others are considering similar probes, which would not be covered by President Biden’s January 2025 federal pardon.
- Lawyers and scholars note contempt prosecutions are uncommon, that success is far from assured, and that the dispute will likely produce prolonged court battles over how pardons interact with Fifth Amendment protections and congressional enforcement.