The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on Thursday to hold former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci in criminal contempt of Congress for declining to answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic during a highly charged hearing last week.
The Thursday morning 8-5 vote represents an extreme move in the ongoing fight between Committee Chair Sen. Rand Paul and Fauci, who was a key White House adviser during the pandemic. Paul has repeatedly accused Fauci of knowing more about the origins of COVID-19 than he admits and of lying to the Senate about it. Fauci has accused Paul of being unreasonably obsessed with putting him behind bars.
