In most cases public Congressional hearings accomplish little. Representatives or Senators from both parties make speeches or ask leading questions. Often the lawmakers are rude and disrespectful to witnesses, other times the witnesses are smug and disrespectful to Congress. Even when an investigative committee uncovers wrongdoing of some kind, a change in administration can make any findings moot. At best, a public hearing can put relevant issues in front of the electorate and influence their votes. Witnesses often sidestep questions, giving vague answers, or invoking their constitutional right to remain silent. Like Dr. Fauci did in a Senate hearing this past week.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a time of incredible confusion. There was much that we didn't know as it began and even the infectious disease experts were scrambling to stay ahead and give appropriate advice for minimizing infections and death. Guidance regarding masking, social distancing, closure of schools and businesses changed as new information became available and even as the virus itself mutated. Public health officials and elected representatives had to balance the risk of the virus' spread with the harm that closing schools or businesses might have. No matter what decisions were made, somebody was going to be mad.
Dr. Anthony Fauci was one of the main advisors to President Trump when the pandemic began. Not the only one, but somehow he became the face of conspiracy theories dreamed up by those who thought the pandemic was a hoax, while at the same time by those who blamed him for the hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States. He joins the club of the many people in the "lock her (or him) up" club who committed no crimes but whom the MAGA crowd is convinced below in prison. I'm not going to run through the litany of accusations that have been flung at him, but a key word to consider is "advisor".
As an advisor to the president, Fauci's job was not a decision-making position. It was to provide Trump with information so that Trump could make decisions. Trump, if you recall, was musing about whether injecting disinfectant was a viable solution. (Many in the MAGA camp claimed that he never said this because many people misquoted him as saying "bleach", or claimed that Trump was joking, or some other ridiculous excuse). Trump chose to not impose national lockdowns and left it up to state and local officials to make their own decisions on how to deal with the spread of Covid-19. Dr. Fauci had no role in how governors and mayors dealt with the pandemic.
It became clear once Trump was re-elected in 2024 that the federal department headed by the Attorney General could no longer be call the Department of Justice, but more accurately the the Department of Retribution. We have seen over the last year how various people whom Trump considered enemies have been targeted for investigations. President Biden, as one of his final acts in office gave preemptive pardons to people who had been the focus of Trump's and his MAGA followers' ire, including DR. Fauci. In an effort to find something, anything, that didn't fall under the presidential pardon, Sen. Rand Paul requested Dr. Fauci's Covid-era diary. For some reason Fauci made these diary entries on a government server, so they were a matter of public record. Paul made it very clear that he believed that Dr. Fauci belonged in prison and was transparent about his crusade to find a loophole in the pardon, possibly a difference between what he would say in a Senate hearing and what was written in the diary, in order to charge him with perjury. Dr. Fauci chose to claim his constitutional right to decline to answer any questions.
You've probably heard by now that by accepting a pardon, you are no longer exposed to criminal liability for the crime for which you are pardoned and can be compelled to testify. And since Dr. Fauci received a blanket pardon for any acts up through the end of Biden's term in office, he can no longer refuse to testify. This is true, as far as I can determine, up to a point. Rand Paul has made it clear that he is looking for a justification to bring charges against Dr. Fauci, whether it be perjury, lying to Congress, or any hypothetical crime that occurred after January 20, 2025, including state crimes that theoretically took place before 2025.
One of the things you see on cop shows is that people who are guilty are the ones who "lawyer up" or refuse to answer questions. Whether this is a reflection of how things really are, or we've been collectively brainwashed to believe that, most of the time a refusal to answer questions is assumed to be a sign of guilt. What most of us don't realize, but what any criminal defense lawyer will tell you, is that when the police are asking you questions they are gathering evidence. You know that line: "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law"? Well, they really mean that. Even if you're guilty, it's not your job to convict yourself, but even if you're innocent there's nothing to be gained by giving law enforcement information that could possibly be misinterpreted and used against you.
Dr. Fauci did the right thing in my opinion. It was made clear that the purpose of the hearing was not to uncover the truth, but to uncover a tenuous excuse to prosecute him but any means necessary. Answering questions would have possibly given Paul and the other Republicans on the committee a pretext to take legal action, no matter how much of a stretch it was. The fact that his lawyer was kicked out of the hearing room gave additional reason to suspect the legitimacy of the whole process. His refusal to answer questions even on some innocuous questions like the color of his tie or whether there was a folder on the table in front of him, gave the middle finger to the whole process.
It's never wrong to insist on exercising your rights under the Constitution.
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