Senator Josh Hawley Makes Anthony Fauci REGRET Invoking the Fifth Amendment in Explosive Capitol Hill Hearing

Fauci refused to answer questions about his role during Covid — but that decision may have opened the door to the very accountability he was trying to avoid.

The day was finally here. The stage was set. This was the moment so many had been waiting for since the start of the pandemic: Anthony Fauci would have to face Congress and the American people.

He would have to answer for every single thing that he did during Covid…well not exactly.

Shortly after Fauci was sworn and began his opening statement on Capitol Hill, he informed the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that he would not be answering any of their questions.

However, that did not stop the full-court press from the Republican bench.

But of all the Senators who questioned Fauci that day, it was Senator Josh Hawley’s exchange that was the most powerful and could end up having the biggest impact.

After complaining that Senator Rand Paul had an “unhinged obsession” with him, Fauci spent the remainder of his opening statement invoking the Fifth Amendment.

FAUCI: “Therefore, although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.”

“Thank you.”

The move wasn’t a surprise to anyone in the hearing room, but it was an admission.

One by one, Republican Senators blasted Fauci for refusing to answer questions about his actions during the pandemic.

Senators Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, and Bernie Moreno all had memorable exchanges, relentlessly grilling Fauci for his conduct.

But it was Josh Hawley who completely flipped the script.

He opened by asking Fauci a series of simple, almost comical questions, fully expecting the same response each time.

The payoff came a few moments later.

HAWLEY: “Let’s try something. What day of the week is it today?”

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

HAWLEY: “What color tie are you wearing?”

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

HAWLEY: “What color is the carpet in front of you?”

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

After Fauci’s third invocation, Hawley let him have it with both barrels.

He exposed how Fauci did not have the right to invoke the Fifth Amendment because he had already received a pardon from President Biden.

HAWLEY: “Let’s just get one thing straight. You don’t have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you’ve been pardoned!”

Senator Hawley then pointed to an 1896 Supreme Court ruling in which Justice Henry Brown, appointed by President Benjamin Harrison, held that a witness who has been granted statutory immunity from prosecution can still be compelled to testify because that immunity eliminates the basis for invoking the Fifth Amendment.

“As you very well know, the Supreme Court has been clear for a century and more, Brown v. Walker, 1896. When he has been pardoned, he may not stand upon his privilege.”

“You know that!”

“Your lawyers sitting behind you, now shifting nervously in their chairs, they know it.”

“This isn’t about the Constitution. This isn’t about the law. This is about contempt. Contempt for this body and contempt for the American people.”

It was incriminating to say the least.

Hawley wasn’t finished.

Even though Fauci wasn’t answering, the Missouri senator continued pressing him, laying out what he believed was the real reason Fauci had chosen to invoke the Fifth.

HAWLEY: “But I think I know why you’re doing it, it’s because you don’t want to answer questions.”

“It’s because you did all kinds of terrible things.”

“It’s because during the pandemic you got rich, didn’t you?”

“You got rich, while people were dying, hundreds of thousands of Americans, over a million in the end, and you were getting rich.”

Hawley then accused Fauci of personally benefiting from federal cash awards during the pandemic.

HAWLEY: “And not only were you doing that, you were using federal employees with taxpayer money to apply for and solicit cash prizes…for you personally…cash prizes totaling over a million dollars.”

“You did all of that during the pandemic, didn’t you?”

To no one’s surprise, Fauci invoked the Fifth…once again.

Then came the single greatest moment from the entire hearing.

The final 90 seconds of Senator Josh Hawley’s questioning of Anthony Fauci was pure cinema.

Senator Hawley launched into a damning monologue, with Fauci remaining silent and looking on with a sheepish expression.

HAWLEY: “Yeah, well, silence is admission.”

“And here’s the real thing…at the end of the day, it wasn’t just about the money, really, was it?”

“It was really about a power trip. I mean, through all of this, you wanted to be the most famous scientist in the world. You were so focused on getting every award and every drop of cash that you could, all because you wanted to be on TV.”

“You wanted to be the sun god of science.”

“You wanted to be the guy who was in charge of it all.”

“You wanted to lambaste Trump.”

“You wanted to make sure that nobody else stole your spotlight.”

“YOU wanted to be the GUY.”

Senator Hawley just kept rattling them off, one after the other.

HAWLEY: “You had time to sit for InStyle magazine. Here’s what you were doing 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.”

Hawley ended the exchange by cutting Fauci down to the bone with everything he had just exposed. It was brutal.

HAWLEY: “You may have been a good public servant at one time, I don’t know.”

“What 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, and you’ve lied to the American people, and you’ve lied to this body!”

“And you’ve disgraced your profession by doing it.”

The last two lines hit the hardest. Fauci knew Hawley had him dead to rights, and the look on his face was priceless.

HAWLEY: “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.”

It was the perfect ending to the exchange. Senator Hawley had just said to Fauci’s face what so many people had wanted to say for years.

It wasn’t just Senator Hawley’s onslaught that made the moment so memorable for those watching at home…it was also Fauci’s reaction to it all.

If you watched Anthony Fauci’s body language closely, you may have noticed a few tells throughout the exchange.

As Hawley ripped into him for nearly a minute and a half, Fauci appeared more and more visibly uncomfortable.

He scratched his ear at the exact moment Hawley said, “You’ve lied to the American people.”

When Hawley began talking about the alleged financial and power abuses, Fauci grew increasingly restless.

He let out several sighs, looked down, and fidgeted with his hands.

Whether intentional or not, his body language was revealing.

And if you were keeping count from the sidelines, Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment for a total of 111 times during the hearing.

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