Anthony Fauci went to Capitol Hill today for a hearing to answer for his handling of the COVID pandemic. The hearing came after Sen. Rand Paul released Fauci's diary, the entries of which proved that pretty much everything Fauci publicly said was a lie. Fauci said publicly that the virus came from the wet market, but admitted in his diary it probably came from the Wuhan lab.
The diary also proved the media was in bed with Fauci on this, including Jake Tapper, who had dinner with Fauci on at least two occasions.
According to Fox News this morning, Fauci did not want to attend this hearing and arrived at Capitol Hill with a security detail.
"I really do think he intentionally misled, obviously, the Congress and the media ... and the American public," said Dr. Robert Redfield, the former Director of the CDC on Fox & Friends. "I don't think it was for personal gain, I think it was because he believed that he somehow was the protector of all science."
"I argue that Tony, at the end of the day, hurt science more than anybody," Redfield added. Redfield was one of the scientists that Fauci worked to silence.
Sen. Paul began the hearing by laying into Fauci over his record, hitting him hard on Fauci's ties to gain-of-function research and the funding of the Wuhan lab.
Sen. Rand Paul to Anthony Fauci:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"The COVID lockdown could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime.
Children lost years of education, small businesses built over a lifetime disappeared, patients delayed cancer screenings and other medical care,… pic.twitter.com/ZY1XCkqvHb
"You could not hide that your agency had funded the Wuhan research or your long history of defending gain-of-function research," Paul said. "The only alternative left was to argue that COVID-19 did not originate in the Wuhan lab. You were not a detached observer; you had an institutional interest in the public believing that federally funded research had nothing to do with the pandemic. It was a conflict of interest from the very beginning."
"The only logical answer is your primary concern was avoiding culpability," Paul continued. "Your support of gain-of-function research is extensive and longstanding." He pointed to a 2011 gain-of-function research that made avian flu transmissible by air from mammal to mammal.
"You defended these avian flu transmissibility experiments as critical research. You wrote that even if a scientist became infected and triggered a pandemic, the benefits of the gain-of-function experiments outweigh the risks," Paul said.
🚨Sen. Rand Paul details one of MANY lies Anthony Fauci told the public:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"On May 11, 2021, you told the Senate the NIH has never, ever, and does not now fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. When I gave you the opportunity to correct the… pic.twitter.com/WCx7if7vlf
"A pardon may protect a person from criminal prosecution; it doesn't rewrite history," Paul added. "No scientist is above scrutiny, no government official is beyond accountability. And no public servant has the right to treat the suffering of millions of Americans as a footnote to his preferred version of history."
🔥Sen. Rand Paul SKEWERS Fauci as he concludes his opening remarks:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"You are here today under duress. You are here today because of the court ordering it. President Biden issued you a sweeping parting, extending back to 2014 — the same pardon he gave to his son, Hunter.
A… pic.twitter.com/bpTEf7DYbW
Paul then let Sen. Gary Peters give his opening remarks, who defended Fauci.
"In 2021, the chairman has called for today's witness to be fired, to be arrested, accused him of leading cover-ups and conspiracies," Peters said, attacking Paul's record of trying to hold Fauci accountable.
"We should be examining whether our federal health agencies have the personnel and the resources they need to effectively prevent, detect and respond to these threats. We should be asking how to strengthen our bio defense efforts ... these are the kinds of forward-looking matters that are worthy of this committee's time. Instead, we are here continuing the chairman's yearlong focus on one individual," Peters continued.
Fauci was sworn in by Paul, and Fauci then gave his opening statement. And Fauci pleaded the fifth.
HAPPENING NOW: Anthony Fauci PLEADS THE FIFTH, refuses to speak on COVID-19 or leaked diary entries.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
Coward. pic.twitter.com/YpixJgcaSQ
He also attacked Sen. Paul.
Fauci's NARCISSISM is on FULL DISLAY today:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"Given Senator Paul's obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently, his publicly releasing my un-redacted, personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me, the only… pic.twitter.com/StLqlnZfSC
"I served at the NIH for over 54 years, 38 of those at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Over that period, I proved that I believe in and respect the value of legitimate Congressional oversight. In fact, I testified before and/or briefed Senate and House committees well over 200 times over those 38 years. During and after the COVID pandemic, I have appeared multiple times for hearing in the Senate and the House, usually under oath, and sat for several days-long transcribed sworn interviews answering questions about the very issues that are now the subject of this hearing," Fauci said. "However, given Senator Paul's obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my undredacted personal diary aimed at embarassinga nd intimidating me the only conclusion that I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say somthing, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up in his words 'behind bars.' Any reasonable person who has followed his unhinged obsession with me would readily come to the same conclusion; therefore, although it pains me to do so, because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of the government and my decades long record of cooperating with congress, under the advice of my attorneys I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the constitution to refrain from answering your questions."
Despite questioning by Paul, Fauci repeatedly refused to answer questions.
Fauci REPEATEDLY invokes the Fifth Amendment before Congress pic.twitter.com/vNCVWu3wjP
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026
"In the red folder on your table is a copy of Section 192 of Title 2 of the U.S. Code. ... that section makes it a crime for a witness appearing under subpoena to refuse to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry," Paul said. "Do you have that in front of you?"
Fauci again refused to answer.
"Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there's a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right," Paul said.
Paul continued to question Fauci, who responded to every inquiry by saying, "Under advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."
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