Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment in Senate Hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert during the COVID-19 pandemic, faced the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) – on Wednesday, based on newly declassified documents that indicate he lied about COVID's origins and impact.

RELATED: Newly Declassified Docs Accuse Fauci of Lying About COVID Origins, Research Funding | AllSides

The Details: "Paul says the NIH funded [COVID-related research] in Wuhan [, China] and that Fauci lied when he denied it," said Reuters (Center bias), "while Fauci says the research did not meet the government's formal regulatory definition." Fauci told the committee dozens of times, "Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions." Paul responded, "It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress," and that neither the Fifth Amendment nor Biden's Jan. 2025 pardon of Fauci would protect him from subsequent actions and investigation infringements.

RELATED: Diary Entries from Dr. Fauci Show Contradictions with His Public Comments on COVID-19 | AllSides

How The Media Covered It: Biased word choices were rampant across the political spectrum, especially in headlines. Some outlets on the left, such as Associated Press (Lean Left) and Los Angeles Times (Lean Left) highlighted the hearing as "Republican-led." While the Times, Reuters, and Washington Post's (Lean Left) headlines said Fauci "decline[d] to answer" questions, Fox News (Right) and The Federalist (Right) more assertively said he "refuse[d] to answer."

Beyond the headlines, outlets on the right generally framed this story as incriminating Fauci and his Democratic supporters. Outlets on the left more often framed it as a sort of attack on Fauci. CNN (Lean Left), for instance, said, "Republicans outwardly hoped [the hearing] would undermine the scientist and open him to claims of perjury." The outlet preemptively said, "They will likely point to his invocation of his constitutional right as evidence he is unwilling to be transparent." CNN and Reuters prominently gave voice to those who accused Paul of having a personal bias against Fauci.

Another Fox article reported the hearing "took a turn" when attorney David Schertler "attempted to speak without being recognized… Despite [Paul's] warnings, the man continued speaking, prompting Paul to ask security to 'please remove him from the room.'" The outlet highlighted, "As Paul said this, several people in the gallery broke into applause." Reuters' report slanted in the other direction, stating that Paul "refus[ed] to recognize [Schertler's] attempts to speak."

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What Exactly Does The Fifth Amendment Say? "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

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