Fauci’s Turn From Pandemic Star to Silent Witness

“Dr. Anthony Fauci and his lawyers knew that invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a congressional hearing this week was a gamble. The doctor millions trusted through the pandemic risked looking like a man with something to hide,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“His team decided it was his best play, according to people familiar with his legal strategy—because his alternatives were worse. His lawyers believed that answering could open him up to a perjury charge from Republican opponents hunting for discrepancies in his near constant stream of statements during the chaos of the pandemic. Refusing to testify at all could land a contempt-of-Congress referral at President Trump’s Justice Department.”

“So this week Fauci invoked the Fifth more than 100 times during a combative Senate hearing, sitting silently as frustrated Republican senators peppered him with expletives and accusations.”