Lawyer’s letter says compelled testimony would ‘impermissibly harass’ Fauci
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel, after majority Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee voted along partisan lines last week to hold the longtime infectious disease expert in contempt.
In a letter to Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Fauci’s lawyer wrote that any effort to compel his appearance before a Senate subcommittee would be to “impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes.”
At the July 29 hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 100 times. The committee held its contempt vote on Aug. 6, referring the matter to the Justice Department for potential investigation.
The Justice Department will weigh whether to open an investigation into whether Fauci properly exercised his constitutional rights when he invoked the Fifth Amendment at the July hearing.
In his letter to Johnson, Fauci’s lawyer declined the second panel’s request for voluntary cooperation.