Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment over Senators' COVID questions

Dr. Anthony Fauci repeatedly invokes the Fifth Amendment

and decline to answer dozens of questions from senators in the Republican-led

committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scientist was subpoenaed to appear before the committee

by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky,

who has long had a fraught relationship with Fauci

and led the charge seeking that he testify, again, under oath.

Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday

sought to build the case that

Dr. Anthony Fauci helped produce the COVID-19 pandemic

by approving funding of research on virus mutations

and then covered up his complicity.

Senator Rand Paul Committee Chair

"The real question is, was it dangerous? Was it a wise decision to fund this?

And you haven't deviated from that.

You've never admitted that it could have been a mistake funding

this research in China."

Fauci, a physician and immunologist who helped lead the US government

response to the COVID-19 pandemic

faced aggressive questioning from Republican members,

especially Chairman Rand Paul.

In response to angry, sometimes mocking questions from Republican senators,

Fauci declined to answer more than 50 times.

Anthony Fauci, Former Director of NIAID said

"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights

under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution."

He had support from some Democratic senators.

Senator Richard Blumenthal Committee member said

"Dr. Fauci has saved lives, as have public health officials

in the United States and throughout the world. And today

we are demeaning and degrading their life-saving service.

Republicans are eager to rebrand you as a villain in order to distract

from their own failure to protect Americans from soaring health care costs."

Speaking from the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump

says he had been watching the Committee hearing

and he disagrees with Fauci over how the country

handled the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donald Trump, US President said

"I watched the whole thing today. But more importantly,

I was a part of the whole Fauci... I inherited Fauci.

He was here from the 1980s. So I had him for a period of time,

and I disagreed with him on a lot.

I would have had to close down the whole country if I listened to him.

I went the Federalist way, which is basically let the governors decide.

And generally speaking, the Republican governors did very well.

The Democrat governors did not very well.

But Fauci wanted to have nobody wearing masks, if you remember."

And then everybody had to wear five masks,

as many masks as you could get. I mean he made a lot of mistakes.