What was billed as a battle of wits between Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Dr. Anthony Fauci, with the lawmaker determined to uncover the former COVID-19 explainer-in-chief’s motivations during the pandemic, became a one-sided affair in the Senate.
Paul has for years sought to uncover Fauci’s alleged role in funding “risky” research in China that Republicans say sparked the pandemic in 2020. He has argued that Fauci should be thrown in prison, and that the former chief medical advisor to the president’s pardon from former President Joe Biden wouldn’t hold up.
But the highly anticipated back and forth, which was further stoked by Paul dumping over 1,000 pages of Fauci’s diary online before the hearing, didn’t go exactly as planned.
Fauci invokes the Fifth Amendment
The hearing kicked off with an impassioned opening statement from Paul, who accused Fauci and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of funding gain-of-function research for years, misleading Congress and destroying records, which he contended created a fracture in public trust over the nation’s COVID-19 response.
“That loss of trust may be your most damaging legacy,” Paul said. “Trust can’t be ordered. It has to be earned. No scientist is above scrutiny. No government official beyond accountability, and no public servant preferred version of history.”
RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES
But Fauci, under guidance from his lawyers, opted against answering any questions from Paul or others on the committee.
He argued that Paul’s “obvious obsession” with pushing for his prosecution, levying allegations against him, and dumping his unredacted diary was designed to “get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote.”
“Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government, and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions,” Fauci said.
Moreno: ‘Who the f— do you think you are?’
The hearing chugged along at roughly the same pace — lawmakers would ask Fauci a question, then he would invoke the Fifth Amendment.
But that didn’t stop some on the panel from getting frustrated at his lack of forthrightness.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, noted that Schertler was a well-known lawyer who previously represented former Sen. Bob Menendez, who was sentenced for accepting gold bars and bribes in exchange for using his influence to benefit the Egyptian government.
WATCH: RAND PAUL SAYS FAUCI LOBBIED FOR $1M PRIZE WHILE LEADING COVID RESPONSE
“And there’s an article here in the Washington Free Beacon that talks about why you would hire a guy like David Schertler. And the comment is, if you’re in deep s—, that’s who you call,” Moreno said. “Do you feel like you’re in deep s—?”
Fauci again declined to answer, which prompted a frustrated Moreno to tell him that his influence over policy during the pandemic in 2020 and the effect that it had on Americans pushed him to run for the Senate.
“Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, ‘Who the f— do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country,’” Moreno said.