Senate committee votes in favor of holding Fauci in contempt of Congress

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted Thursday morning in favor of recommending Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic response, be held in contempt of Congress.

The vote follows Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the pandemic, invoking the Fifth Amendment, which protects people from self-incrimination, over 100 times during a committee hearing last week on the pandemic response and the origins of the virus.

The committee vote Thursday is expected to initiate a process that would result in the Justice Department considering whether to charge him with a crime, according to CNN. 

However, the process – or the possibility – of the DOJ taking up the matter is complicated by President Biden, before leaving office, giving Fauci a preemptive pardon for any crimes he might have committed dating back to 2014. 

Whether Fauci was covered by the pardon during the hearing and the mix of the pardon while pleading the Fifth Amendment is at the center of the legal debate.

Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul chose to hold the vote within his GOP-led panel, instead of a full Senate vote. Committee Democrats on Wednesday opposed Paul's move. However, they failed to get enough votes to stop the process.