Can Republicans Actually Send Anthony Fauci to Jail?
In the immediate aftermath of Anthony Fauci’s tense congressional hearing on Wednesday, where he refused to answer any questions and invoked the Fifth...
Key points
- In the immediate aftermath of Anthony Fauci’s tense congressional hearing on Wednesday, where he refused to answer any questions and invoked the Fifth Amendment, MAGA figures and Republican officials appeared to be seeking one thing: jail time for the former White House chief medical advisor.
- “A court ultimately would have to determine: Does the Fifth Amendment apply to someone who already has a pardon?” Paul said his committee will hold a vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, a charge that carries a potential punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.
- But Fauci was careful to specify that his decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment was not in relation to anything he said or did in the period covered by his pardon, but specifically about what he might be induced to say during the hearing.
- “Ergo, to the extent the concern was a prosecution for perjury or material omissions in statements to Congress, then those offenses would be a basis for Fifth Amendment invocation, and so not amenable to contempt.” Which is to say, Fauci should theoretically be safe here.
What happened
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In the immediate aftermath of Anthony Fauci’s tense congressional hearing on Wednesday, where he refused to answer any questions and invoked the Fifth Amendment, MAGA figures and Republican officials appeared to be seeking one thing: jail time for the former White House chief medical advisor. “A court ultimately would have to determine: Does the Fifth Amendment apply to someone who already has a pardon?” Paul said his committee will hold a vote next week on whether to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, a charge that carries a potential punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000. But Fauci was careful to specify that his decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment was not in relation to anything he said or did in the period covered by his pardon, but specifically about what he might be induced to say during the hearing. “Ergo, to the extent the concern was a prosecution for perjury or material omissions in statements to Congress, then those offenses would be a basis for Fifth Amendment invocation, and so not amenable to contempt.” Which is to say, Fauci should theoretically be safe here. When asked if Paul and his fellow Republican senators on the committee could...