Fauci pleads the Fifth over 100 times in Senate hearing, faces contempt vote
Dr. Anthony Fauci pleaded the Fifth Amendment 111 times in a Senate hearing regarding COVID-19 origins. Sen. Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, is pushing to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, noting Fauci’s own diary entry from January 2020 indicated the wet market was an amplifier, not the source, of the virus.
The start of any NFL training camp is a life-consuming experience that leaves participants with little time for anything else, but Philadelphia Eagles coach Vic Fangio showed Thursday he can still keep up with other things: Like Anthony Fauci’s Senate hearing.
The defensive coordinator got in front of reporters for a regularly scheduled news conference and promptly fielded the first question that, if you know Philly reporters, wasn’t a softball.
“I’m going to be like Fauci and just take the Fifth Amendment on your question,” Fangio said. “Did you guys see that?
“Oh, my God.”
Dec 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on the field before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. (Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images)
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Fangio was kidding.
And not kidding.
He watched segments of the hearings in which the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a cornerstone member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force during the Covid-19 pandemic testified before senators.
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment so as to not incriminate himself more than 100 times – 111 times by some counts.
Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed to appear before the Senate’s government oversight committee by Chairman Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), who has alleged Fauci should be jailed for covering up the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and even helped cause the pandemic by funding Coronavirus research in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak began in 2019.
RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES
Dr. Anthony Fauci is sworn in during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 29, 2026. Dr. Fauci, the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is testifying after Senator Rand Paul, Republican from Kentucky, released more than 1000 pages of Fauci’s diary entries from the COVID-19 pandemic. (Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images)
Fauci refused to answer the most mundane questions despite the fact that President Joe Biden gave him a full, unconditional and preemptive pardon.
The good doctor wouldn’t even answer questions about the color of his tie or the carpet.
And Fangio, who attended the Eagles’ Super Bowl celebration at the White House in 2025, was not impressed.
(One supposes he’s like a lot of Americans who want answers because, like everything else, the NFL was deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic).
Fangio, 67, did not watch the entire Fauci circus act, according to a source. He was, however, interested in the highlights and takeaways from the session.
And it’s still on his mind.
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President Donald Trump greets Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley at a White House event welcoming the 2025 Super Bowl champion Eagles on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025. Trump honored the Eagles after their second Super Bowl victory. (Getty Images)
Later, during his nearly 12-minute news conference, Fangio was asked a question that Eagles’ executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman was asked the day before.
Fangio noted Roseman was asked the same question but didn’t know what Roseman offered as an answer.
“He ducked you?” Fangio asked the reporter. “He Fauci-ed you?”
We know how Vic Fangio feels about Anthony Fauci.
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