Fauci Refuses to Answer Questions in Senate Hearing on COVID Origins

Sun Sep 06 2026 12:48:48 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Former top US health official Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in a heated Senate hearing over COVID lab‑leak theories, sparking a political firestorm.

A heated Senate hearing saw former top US health official Anthony Fauci refuse to answer questions about the origins of the COVID‑19 pandemic, citing a fear that his testimony could be used against him in a perjury case. He invoked the Fifth Amendment, a constitutional right that protects witnesses from self‑incrimination, amid a storm of Republican calls for an investigation into his diary entries. The Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul, had released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci's pandemic‑era notes that included early mentions of a lab‑leak theory, which Fauci said he had moved away from over time. Democrats defended Fauci and criticized the hearing as a political trap, while Republicans expressed anger at the refusal to testify, with co‑chair GOP senators calling him contemptuous of Congress.

Background: The Senate Hearing

Senate Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul, filed a Request for Information to bring former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Anthony Fau c in front of the Committee on Intelligence. They wanted his testimony about whether the virus could have leaked from a laboratory.

While Fau c has earlier testified in statements under oath, that week he said he did not want to be forced to give answers that could later be used against him for perjury. His lawyers advised him to invoke the Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer questions that might incriminate him.

The Lab Leak Debate

Fau c’s own notes echo the two‑theory debate. In February 2020 the paperwork shows he left the door open for both natural‑origin and lab‑leak possibilities. He later leaned toward the former, remarking he was “almost certain” the virus evolved naturally from a species jump.

Paul’s press release highlighted the early lab‑leak mention as a key “contradiction” to Fau c’s public statements of a natural spillover. Republicans claim that Fau c’s diary entries allow for an investigation to differentiate between the two possibilities.

Political Fallout

The hearing turned tense when Paul persisted in questioning while a fellow intelligence lawyer attempted to speak up. A security guard was subsequently asked to remove the lawyer.

Democratic senators defended Fau c, suggesting the hearing was purely a political trap. They also linked the hearing to broader concerns about U.S. health leadership under current Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.

Republicans, including Senator Josh Hawley, accused Fau c of contempt, while others called his denial a sign of political fear.

Source: BBC News