Dr. Anthony Fauci was not happy that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) exposed the real side of him before his appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Paul posted his diary entries, which are not private; they’re government records, Tony. We get why you didn’t want them to become public; they expose you as a narcissistic loon. 

He read the opening remarks and then got scorched, pleading the Fifth, which is not applicable here: he’s already been pardoned. In some 250 appearances before Congress during his career, Fauci invoked the Fifth over 100 times. It was pathetic, and it won’t go unpunished. Paul is mulling and likely will carry out a contempt vote over the doctor’s refusal to answer questions about how he bungled the COVID pandemic (via The Hill):

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he would push to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after the former head of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic response invoked his Fifth Amendment right at a hearing on Capitol Hill. 

“That’s a vote that will happen in committee next week. It will be in contempt of Congress,” Paul told reporters after the hearing.

“We believe that with his … immunity from criminal liability, that he didn’t need to hide behind the Fifth Amendment and that maybe the Fifth Amendment doesn’t attach when you have a pardon in place,” he continued. “That’ll be a legal question, but the question on contempt will be voted on, and then there’s a question of whether or not the Department of Justice will take that up.”

Fauci has no fear of prosecution due to Biden’s pardon, but that doesn’t cover this hearing, so yeah, the guy’s public relations nightmare continues. What are you hiding, Fauci? And there’s still the matter of the destruction of federal records, too.

Also, remember, the pardon might not be bulletproof, as Catherine Herridge reminded us today:

Before the hearing Sen.Rand Paul a former senior Justice Department prosecutor told me there are three, viable legal strategies to challenge the preemptive Biden pardon. 

But there is no easy path. 

One strategy calls for charging Fauci with a crime, with the expectation he would file a motion with the court to dismiss based on the pardon. This could open the door to challenging the sweeping pardon’s viability and years of litigation. 

Another strategy involves Congress. Because Fauci has theoretically been preemptively pardoned against past and future criminal charges related to his NIH work, it can be argued that Fauci has no plausible claim to the 5th Amendment, the right against self-incrimination. 

If Fauci takes the Fifth at Senator Paul’s hearing (which he has) the committee could seek to compel Fauci's testimony. A finding of contempt could follow. 

Finally, one of Fauci’s closest associates has been criminally charged. With pressure and the right incentives he might be flipped and become a cooperating witness. 

Dr. David Morens, who was a senior advisor to Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was indicted on multiple charges including conspiracy and obstruction, including destruction, alteration or falsification of federal records. 

Along with allegations that personal email accounts were used to evade the Freedom of Information Act, this could be a powerful motivator. 

From media reports: Dr. David Morens has pleaded not guilty to all five federal criminal counts.