The US Senate committee voted to charge Dr. Anthony Fauci, former US chief medical advisor, with contempt of Congress after he refused to answer the committee's questions about the origin of COVID-19.
On Thursday, 6 Aug 2026 GMT+7, the US Senate committee approved charges against Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chief public health advisor, for “contempt of Congress” due to his refusal to answer questions during a congressional inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.
During testimony the previous week, Dr. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution, which grants the right not to self-incriminate, refusing to answer the Senate committee's questions over 100 times. He claimed that Senator Rand Paul, a Republican, was attempting by all means to send him to jail.
Although former President Joe Biden had preemptively pardoned Dr. Fauci on the last day of his term in 2025, protecting Fauci's actions from 2014 to 2025, Senator Rand Paul insisted this vote was to punish Fauci's contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions after the pardon period had ended.
Dr. Fauci and his legal counsel argued that this was political theater aimed at punishing someone exercising their constitutional rights properly. They insisted Fauci committed no wrongdoing and accused Senator Rand Paul of an excessive obsession to target him.
Senator Gary Peters, the Democratic lead on the committee, stated that the investigation was rushed and politically motivated to damage Dr. Fauci's reputation.
Meanwhile, Republicans, especially Senator Rand Paul, accused Dr. Fauci of attempting to conceal the origin of COVID-19 because Fauci had personally believed the virus leaked from a Wuhan lab in China but publicly stated it arose naturally.
Notably, Fauci's records released in early 2020 showed he considered both possibilities (natural origin and lab leak) but later leaned toward the natural origin, noting that "although both possibilities exist, it does not mean they are equally likely."
Next, the vote allows the committee to refer the matter to the US Department of Justice to decide whether to file criminal charges against Dr. Fauci. Senator Rand Paul bypassed a full Senate vote to expedite the process. It remains uncertain whether the Department of Justice will pursue the case.
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Source:bbc