Dr. Anthony Fauci refused to answer questions at a Senate hearing Wednesday, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights during a grilling over his pandemic leadership.
The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul led the questioning, focusing on Fauci's private journal entries from December 2019 to December 2022.
Paul had subpoenaed Fauci to testify, but the witness declined to answer any substantive questions, pleading the Fifth to each one.
The hearing was part of an ongoing review of the U. S.
response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fauci's stonewalling is expected to intensify political debate over accountability for pandemic-era decisions.
