Senator Rand Paul has spent half a decade assembling what amounts to the world's most thorough book report on Anthony Fauci. He has the documents, the emails, the gain of function research records, classified intelligence about COVID origins, and even the man's diary. Seven prior Senate hearings worth of interrogation. And yet, as USA Journal reported, when Fauci sat down for hearing number eight and proceeded to invoke his Fifth Amendment right exactly 111 times, Paul was genuinely shocked. That is a LOT of times to say "I decline to answer" when you already have a presidential get out of jail free card sitting in your back pocket.
Paul shared his bewilderment on NewsNation with Katie Pavlich Tuesday evening, and his logic is pretty hard to argue with. Here is how it works, in case you missed Constitutional Law 101. Biden pardoned Fauci for past conduct. A pardon means you cannot face criminal prosecution for said conduct. If prosecution is off the table, your testimony cannot possibly incriminate you. And if self incrimination is impossible, the Fifth Amendment does not apply to you. It is like wearing a life jacket and refusing to get in the pool because you might drown.
Ryan Goodman, who served as Pentagon counsel under Obama, made the exact same legal argument on CNN. So this is not exactly a partisan fever dream. A pardoned individual declining to testify 111 consecutive times raises a question so obvious that even a child could spot it. What exactly are you hiding that the pardon does not cover?
There are a few theories floating around. Fauci's legal team might believe Biden's pardon has holes, covering some conduct but not everything. CIA whistleblower James Erdman has pointed to financial conflicts of interest within NIH, suggesting that corruption follows the money trail in directions the pardon may not reach. There is also a question about whether the pardon itself is legally valid since it was signed with an autopen. Oh, and Florida has its own state investigation going, which sits completely outside the jurisdiction of any federal pardon. Federal immunity does not help you one bit when a state comes knocking.
As Paul put it so eloquently, how can someone seek immunity from self incrimination when they have already been granted immunity? It is a question that basically answers itself.
Now the dominoes start falling. Paul has a contempt vote scheduled for next week in committee. That would be a felony referral sent straight to the Department of Justice for Fauci's refusal to cooperate when his Fifth Amendment claim was, by all legal reasoning, completely invalid. The DOJ under Todd Blanche, once he is confirmed, will ultimately decide whether to pursue the matter.
Let us just appreciate the comedy of this situation for a moment. A man who received one of the most sweeping presidential pardons in recent memory walked into Congress and acted like someone with everything to lose. A person who truly had nothing concerning in their past would simply answer the questions and head home for dinner. Instead, Fauci chose to absorb the massive reputational hit of invoking the Fifth over a hundred times, apparently calculating that silence was less damaging than whatever he might actually say. That math only works if there is something significant the pardon left exposed.
The contempt vote is next week. Grab your popcorn.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
