The fireworks started before Dr. Anthony Fauci answered a single question Wednesday.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ordered Capitol security to remove one of Fauci’s attorneys after an extraordinary confrontation over courtroom protocol. Moments earlier the former COVID adviser invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The attorney repeatedly interrupted proceedings after insisting on sitting at the witness table despite instructions from committee staff to move.
“You are not recognized,” Paul said repeatedly.
When the interruptions continued, the chairman’s patience evaporated.
“You were told not to sit at the table,” Paul said. “You insist on sitting at the table… You are not invited here for testimony, sir.“
Paul then compared the attorney’s conduct to behavior that would never be tolerated before a judge.
“Would you behave this way in a courtroom? No, because the judge would put you in jail. I can’t do that today, but I can have you escorted from the premises.“
After another interruption, Paul issued one final warning.
“Another word and you’re gone.“
The attorney spoke again.
“Security, please remove him from the room.“
As Capitol Police escorted the attorney out, Paul reminded the committee that Fauci was hardly without legal representation.
“Let the record state that Dr. Fauci will still have the advice of the other half-dozen attorneys that he brought along today.“
The tense exchange set the tone for one of the most dramatic congressional hearings of the year.
Fauci delivered a prepared statement accusing Paul of having an “obsession” with prosecuting him.
“Given Senator Paul’s obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution… the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something… that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars.’“
Acting on the advice of his legal team, Fauci then invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer the committee’s questions.
The hearing follows the recent release of more than 1,100 pages of Fauci’s COVID-era journals and comes as Republicans continue investigating the federal government’s handling of the pandemic, funding of virus research, and Fauci’s role in shaping the nation’s COVID response.
