Hawley rips Fauci over 5th Amendment plea: 'You don't have any rights'

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Wednesday excoriated Dr. Anthony Fauci's invocation of the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to avoid answering questions from a Senate panel.

Hawley noted that Fauci had received a pardon from President Joe Biden and, accordingly, did not have the ability to cite the 5th Amendment, pointing to Supreme Court precedent. He further echoed Sen. Rand Paul's, R-Ky., suggestion that Fauci could face contempt for refusing to answer questions.

"You don't have any rights under the fifth amendment, because you've been pardoned, as you very well know," Hawley said. "As the Supreme Court has been clear for a century or more. Brown vs. Walker, 1896, 'when he has been pardoned he may not stand upon his privilege.'"

"You know that. Your lawyers sitting behind you now, shifting nervously in their chairs, they know it. This isn't about the Constitution this isn't about the law," he added. "This is about contempt, contempt for this body and contempt for the American people."

He went on to suggest that Fauci did not wish to answer questions because he had alleged enriched himself during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.