Dr. Fauci Pleads The 5th At Congressional Hearing On Alleged COVID-19 Origins Cover-Up
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“On her way out, [DNI Tulsi Gabbard] dropped bombshell documents proving Dr. [Anthony] Fauci colluded with a politicized intel community to bury the lab-leak truth and lie to Congress,” wrote Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, on X, formerly Twitter, on June 19.
One day earlier, Gabbard released a batch of newly declassified files alleging that Fauci, who was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, had misled the American public about the origin of the virus.
Regardless of one’s opinion on COVID-19, the pandemic drastically impacted the global economy, and it is credited with the deaths of 1,123,836 Americans, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
Fauci was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, July 29, addressing the allegations leveled against him.
When given the chance to speak, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right.
RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Declassifies Files Exposing COVID Cover-Up As Her Final Act As DNI
Background On The Fauci Hearing
On her final day as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard said in a video statement that Fauci “blatantly lied to Congress” in 2024, denying that “he ever spoke to any Intelligence agency about COVID” — something she says is proven through correspondences included in her release of files on June 18.
This, she claims, is part of a cover-up perpetrated by Fauci to conceal his involvement funding “dangerous gain-of-function and coronavirus research linked to Big Pharma.”
The release of the files saw Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, act quickly, subpoenaing Fauci a couple days later to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, Fauci was questioned by Paul and others on the committee.
Notably, Fauci was pardoned in the final hours of President Joe Biden‘s term in office, a move that has been heavily scrutinized.
Surrounding his pardon are allegations that an “autopen” may have been used by Biden staffers to sign a series of pardons on the president’s behalf in the moments before President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president.
Speaking with Laura Ingraham on Fox News on July 27, HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. noted that, despite Fauci being pardoned, he can be held accountable if he lies during his July 29 testimony.
Such a lie would constitute as perjury.
See RFK Jr. explain that, here:
🚨 RFK Jr.: Fauci Could Still Face PERJURY Charges@RobertKennedyJr: "One of the crimes that he committed was failing to stratify risk. Children were at functionally zero risk, yet they were masked and given shots."
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) July 27, 2026
"He has immunity for what happened before the pardon. But if… pic.twitter.com/13Rg8a7JOu
On July 28, one day before the hearing, Health and Human Services announced that it has instituted a new policy ending dangerous gain-of-function research, saying the policy prohibits “federal support for dangerous gain-of-function research conducted in the United States and abroad” while establishing “rigorous independent review for certain high-risk life sciences research, and [restricting] federal funding for research conducted in countries or institutions that lack appropriate biosafety, biosecurity, and oversight standards.”
Of the new policy, RFK Jr. added:
“The federal government has a duty to protect the American people—not fund research that could put them at risk. Today, we are ending federal support for dangerous gain-of-function research and replacing weak oversight with clear, enforceable safeguards.”
Ahead of Fauci’s testimony, Paul released a 1,104-page document, compiled as Fauci’s “diary” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These correspondences and documents go from 2019 to 2022, with Paul saying they illustrate how Fauci allegedly knew that the virus leaked from the lab in Wuhan.
View Paul’s release of Fauci’s diary, here.
View Gabbard’s release of the documents and communications pertaining to the origins of COVID-19, here.
For additional information on the Trump administration’s view of the COVID origins, visit the White House’s website dedicated to the subject, here.
Fauci Pleads The 5th
“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer, based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” said Fauci repeatedly during the hearing on July 29.
See the moment, here:
Fauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so … under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment pic.twitter.com/ncFCcayUk4
— alex jungle (@JungleAlex13227) July 29, 2026
While Fauci plead the Fifth Amendment, members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — both Republicans and Democrats — continued to ask questions to Fauci.
Each question received the same response, invoking the Fifth Amendment.
At one point, Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, was ejected from the hearing for addressing the committee while not being recognized.
Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, called out Schertler before having him ejected, saying that an attorney waives his right to speak in a hypothetical courtroom setting when the Fifth is invoked.
Paul went on to declare, “It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today.”
Rand Paul TORCHES Fauci for refusing to testify: "It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There WILL be repercussions to your refusal to testify today." pic.twitter.com/6fHNSGf8ef
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 29, 2026
Responding to one of Fauci’s utterances of invoking the Fifth, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, said, “Silence is admission.”
Watch the July 29 hearing, here:
Access the C-SPAN livestream, here.
