Why did Anthony Fauci invoke the Fifth Amendment? Senate hearing explained

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing reporting with The Associated Press, reported that Dr Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a Republican-led Senate hearing on Wednesday into COVID-19’s origins and the US pandemic response. Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

According to the report, Paul questioned Fauci over long-running Republican claims that he misled Congress about whether US-funded research in Wuhan, China, involved gain-of-function work and whether that research may have been linked to the pandemic. Fauci has denied those allegations and has said NIH-funded research did not cause COVID-19. His lawyers advised him not to answer questions under oath, arguing that testimony could create new legal exposure, including possible perjury accusations tied to statements made after a pardon issued by former President Joe Biden in January 2025.

The hearing reportedly lasted about three hours and grew tense. Fauci declined to answer more than 100 questions, while accusing Paul of trying to build a criminal case rather than conduct oversight. Paul said the committee would vote the following week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Al Jazeera also reported that Paul ordered Capitol Police to remove Fauci’s lawyer after the attorney attempted to speak without recognition, while Democratic senators described the hearing as politically driven.

The episode matters because it renews unresolved political and scientific disputes over the pandemic’s origins and the limits of congressional oversight. Al Jazeera noted that many scientists favor a natural spillover explanation, while parts of the US intelligence community have assessed a lab-related incident as possible, in some cases with low confidence.