Anthony Fauci has declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel examining the federal response to COVID-19, according to a letter his attorneys sent Friday to Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. The refusal means a second parallel congressional inquiry has stalled before producing any public testimony.
Johnson chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and had sought a private transcribed interview covering the federal government's pandemic response, including the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. In a letter dated Friday, attorneys David Schertler and Danny Onorato wrote that Fauci had already answered questions honestly and transparently across numerous congressional appearances and stands by all his prior testimony. As the Associated Press reported, the letter argued that any effort to compel another appearance would serve to "impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes." The attorneys also said Fauci and his family had faced harassment and death threats since the July hearing.
