Fauci pleads Fifth with 'zero legal justification' as critics erupt and demand contempt charges

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Dr. Anthony Fauci invokes his Fifth Amendment rights during a Senate hearing, refusing to answer Sen. Rand Paul's questions about Wuhan lab research funding and gain-of-function studies. Former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci repeatedly refused to answer substantive questions from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, leaving the Kentucky Republican frustrated and critics enraged. Fauci and Paul previously engaged in heated exchanges during an earlier hearing, when the lawmaker warned the immunologist against lying to Congress about his role in the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic and his support for gain-of-function research. "I served at the NIH for over 54 years, 38 of those as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.