() — Dr. Anthony Fauci refused to appear on Capitol Hill to give testimony behind closed doors after his July 29 Senate Homeland Security Committee (SHSC) appearance during which he failed to answer questions concerning his culpability regarding the origins and mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, invoking the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times despite having been issued a blanket pardon by President Joe Biden.
A week later, Republican committee members voted unanimously to refer Fauci to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on a Contempt of Congress charge.
Despite Fauci’s stone-faced silence at the televised July 29 hearing, senators still want answers, yet Fauci continues to hide behind his high-priced attorneys.
“Dr. Fauci’s attorney has just notified us that Fauci refuses to appear for a private transcribed interview,’ wrote Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who along with Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has long sought to hold the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) responsible for his role during the pandemic.
“The American people deserve answers to legitimate questions regarding our miserably failed response to COVID-19,” Johnson said. “Some of those questions can only be answered by Dr. Fauci. He arrogantly once stated that he was ‘very happy to testify before any congressional oversight committee. I have nothing to hide.’”
“Apparently, he has a lot to hide,” Johnson suggested.
“Since Fauci refuses to talk about his role and decisions related to COVID-19, my Subcommittee will continue to obtain his records and request to speak with key individuals that he worked with. We will explore our legal options before deciding our next steps,” the Wisconsin senator promised.
Johnson, who also serves as chairman of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent letters to former Food and Drug Administration officials (FDA) Dr. Peter Marks, Dr. Narayan Nair, Dr. Steven Anderson, and Dr. Manette Niu as well as Fauci, requesting transcribed interviews about their roles in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.
On April 29, Johnson released an interim report detailing how senior FDA officials turned a blind eye toward warnings that their vaccine safety monitoring system was hiding safety signals for the COVID-19 vaccines.
In his letter to Fauci, Johnson wrote, “I want to give you another opportunity to provide much-needed transparency about the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s response to it, including early treatments and the development, deployment, safety monitoring, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.”
