The Three Most Explosive Moments from Fauci's Senate Hearing

“You became a narcissist and a megalomaniac and a liar. You’ve lied to the American people, you’ve lied to this body..."

We had fireworks on Capitol Hill when Anthony Fauci testified before the Senate and he pled the 5th 111 times and he was roundly scolded by the senators that were in attendance.

And some of the highlights of this are quite eye-opening because they really told Fauci off and spoke for millions of Americans who want justice over the COVID pandemic response.

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s words, well, they were quite impactful during the entire time. But as we saw with recently released documents that are being referred to as a Fauci diary, the nation’s top COVID doctor was saying things in private that did not match what he was telling the public. This goes towards all sorts of controversial subjects that we don’t need to delve into too far here.

I’m sure people who are watching me are pretty much on the same page that the entire response was botched and faith in science and medical authority was severely undermined. That is something that Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri pointed out in a scathing diatribe. Let’s take a look.

“With your time, you could sit for InStyle magazine, but you can’t answer questions for the American people. You could sit for InStyle magazine, but you’re here taking the Fifth. You could sit for InStyle magazine and get a million bucks in cash awards, but now the cat’s got your tongue. I bet he does.

“I’ll tell you what. Here’s my conclusion from all of this. This was really all about you the whole time. Somewhere along the way, you lost your way. You may have been a good public servant at one time, I don’t know. But I can tell you from reading your emails now, from looking at what you did and how you used your employees, somewhere along the line it became all about you. Your image, your self-aggrandizement, your self-promotion, your personal enrichment. That’s what all this has been about.

“One thing I learned from your email, doctor, is you hate President Trump. You absolutely hate him. It’s all over your emails. It is dripping from every page. You’re entitled to your political views, but what you’re not entitled to do is use your office to punish people who disagree with you politically or to interfere with scientific inquiry because you don’t like the people asking the questions. And that’s exactly what you did.”

“With your time, you could sit for InStyle magazine, but you can’t answer questions for the American people. You could sit for InStyle magazine, but you’re here taking the Fifth. You could sit for InStyle magazine and get a million bucks in cash awards. But now the cat’s got your tongue. I bet he does.

“I’ll tell you what. Here’s my conclusion from all of this. This was really all about you the whole time. Somewhere along the way, you lost your way. You may have been a good public servant at one time, I don’t know, but I can tell you from reading your emails now, from looking at what you did, how you used your employees, somewhere along the line it became all about you.

“You became a narcissist and a megalomaniac and a liar. You’ve lied to the American people, you’ve lied to this body, and you’ve disgraced your profession by doing it. You called yourself the most famous scientist in the world. You’ve done more to harm science than anybody in my lifetime, and I hope you’ll go home and write that in your diary.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

Now, even more colorful, and laden with some profanity, was the rant of Senator Bernie Moreno from Ohio. He really had the “how dare you” vibe going with this, and it is something that I believe a lot of Americans want to tell Fauci. Where does he get off? Well, let’s listen to Senator Moreno.

“Those policies were put in place because you had moronic politicians that listened to the words of a megalomaniac who was more interested in meeting a Kardashian than the suffering of the American people.”

“Those policies were put in place because you had moronic politicians who listened to the words of a megalomaniac who was more interested in having met a Kardashian than the suffering of the American people. And that is you.

“Your advice to communities like that, to idiotic politicians who enforced those rules, arrested that mom for watching a football game with her own family outside.

“When that story broke, I said to myself, I cannot stand idly on the side and watch this happen. It was about six years ago today that I decided I’m going to give up my businesses, sell them all, run for office, run for the United States Senate.

“Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, who the fuck do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country. And if my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you, I hope the voters of the United States of America watch the clips of every one of you doting on a guy who was more interested in being a celebrity than saving American people.”

The narrator continued:

Another outburst didn’t come from a Republican senator during this theatrical display, but from one of Fauci’s lawyers. Dr. Rand Paul, the senator from Kentucky, had the lawyer removed by security, and this exchange is definitely worth watching.

The questioning began with the statement, “The benefits of gain-of-function research outweigh the risks.”

Fauci replied, “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.”

The chairman responded, “The chairman has denied your assertion of privilege and directed you to answer, but you nonetheless refuse and stand on privilege despite the existence of the pardon. The committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against you for failing to testify after being directed to do so.”

“The committee will have to consider, after this hearing, what appropriate action should be taken against you for the failure to testify after being directed to do so. It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today.”

Then the hearing turned chaotic.

“Senator Peters.”

“You’re not recognized.”

“You’re not recognized.”

“If you are unruly, you will be removed from the proceeding.”

“You are not recognized.”

“And you are not recognized, sir.”

“Sir, you are not recognized.”

“You are not recognized.”

“Security. We’ll hold off. But you will respect these proceedings. You were told not to sit at the table. You insist on sitting at the table, and we told you that you would not be recognized. You are not invited here for testimony, sir. You are being disruptive.”

“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. So I would say, sir, sit quietly and don’t say another word. I said sit quietly. You are not recognized. Another word and you’re gone.”

“So, Mr. Chairman, I’d like to hear what the attorney has to say.”

“He is not recognized by the committee or the chair. If he speaks again, he will be removed from the room. This testimony is from Anthony Fauci. This is not a game with his lawyers. He can advise. His lawyers can give him advice. He’s got a half dozen here. They are all allowed to talk to him. All right? But the attorneys are not recognized. In fact, the attorney was told not to sit at the table, and he’s not obeying that recommendation. There’s a row behind you, sir. That’s where you were told to sit, and you’re not. Now you’re disrupting the proceedings.”

“So look, this is the way Anthony Fauci wants to be remembered. For a lawyer not listening to the rules. That’s the way you want to be remembered, and that’s what you’re going to do. You are not recognized, sir.”

The larger question is whether anything beyond “strongly worded letters and public theatrics” will come from the hearing. The pardon granted by former President Joe Biden reportedly extended back to 2014 and covered potential crimes that could be brought against Dr. Fauci.

This type of presidential pardon is unprecedented and has not yet been tested in court. Some constitutional scholars question whether such a broad pardon would withstand legal scrutiny.

There is also the issue of whether Fauci was entitled to invoke the Fifth Amendment if he had already been protected by a pardon. This could expose Fauci to a contempt of Congress allegation because the Fifth Amendment protects against self-incrimination when criminal prosecution is possible.

Fauci’s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment could ultimately expose him to a contempt of Congress charge.

If Fauci’s pardon is legally valid, then the Fifth Amendment would no longer protect him from answering questions because there would be no risk of self-incrimination. That could mean Fauci is legally at risk for refusing to testify.

Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times and that is “a lot of contempt for Congress.” Fauci no longer appeared “boastful and arrogant,” but instead seemed to be shaking and looked apprehensive. Fauci’s six attorneys also appeared nervous throughout the testimony.

We will have to wait and see whether, as Senator Rand Paul suggested, the committee will move forward with a contempt of Congress vote the following week.

Such a vote under U.S. law could theoretically lead to a fine and up to one year in prison. This would be “the least” Fauci could face for his wrongdoing during the COVID pandemic response.

Read Fauci’s diary for yourself. Ignore the passages about celebrities, including Julia Roberts, and instead compare Fauci’s private writings with his public statements.

Those two versions are “wildly discordant” and cannot be reconciled into a reasonable understanding of what Fauci truly believed during the pandemic.

The video concluded by asking viewers whether they believed the hearing amounted to useful political oversight or merely political theater. The narrator questioned whether the proceedings could actually result in a contempt of Congress charge against Fauci, while predicting that Democratic members of Congress would oppose such a move. He argued that Democrats do not hold members of their own party accountable and asserted that this encourages further misconduct.

The response to the pandemic demonstrated a lack of respect for the rights of American citizens and that elected officials who supported those policies should be held accountable.