Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is urging the Justice Department to take action after a Senate committee voted Thursday morning to hold former White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the contempt referral on a party-line vote after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 111 times during a hearing last week about the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hawley, a Republican who serves on the committee, argued Fauci should not have relied on the Fifth Amendment because former President Joe Biden issued him a broad pardon covering potential offenses committed between January 2014 and January 2025.
“This is a guy who came in and took the 5th amendment 111 times and he had absolutely no right to do so because he has a pardon,” Hawley told Missourinet. “The deal is that you can take the 5th if you want to basically admit guilt and you don’t want to answer any questions, but not if you have immunity. He already has immunity. Joe Biden gave him total immunity.”
The vote now shifts the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice, which will decide whether to pursue the contempt referral.
Hawley said he hopes federal prosecutors take action.
“This guy is a crook, and I hope to answer your question that the Department of Justice will take up and prosecute the contempt resolution that we passed out of committee today,” Hawley told Missourinet.
The committee’s chairman, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has argued Congress has a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight and said contempt proceedings are warranted when witnesses refuse to answer questions.
Democrats on the committee strongly disagreed. They contend Fauci retains constitutional protections despite receiving a presidential pardon and argue forcing testimony in this situation could undermine future congressional investigations. Committee Democrats also criticized the process leading up to the vote.
The contempt referral is not binding, and the Justice Department will make the final decision on whether to pursue the case.
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