Contempt of Congress means a witness refused a congressional subpoena, either by declining to testify or by withholding documents lawmakers demanded. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-5, along party lines, to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt after he repeated a 21-word Fifth Amendment refusal 111 times at a single hearing. That referral now sits before a newly confirmed Attorney General, and the Fauci case is shaping up as an early measure of how the Justice Department handles politically sensitive contempt disputes.

How Fauci ended up in this position

The committee issued a subpoena compelling Fauci's testimony. Republicans argued that because President Biden had already pardoned Fauci, Fifth Amendment protection no longer applied. The Fifth Amendment shields witnesses from being compelled to incriminate themselves, and a pardon, Republicans said, removes the underlying criminal exposure that makes the protection available.

Fauci disagreed. He delivered the same 21-word reply 111 times. The phrase, offered on advice of counsel, never changed. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said the real Republican goal was to wait for a misstatement not covered by the pardon, then refer that statement to the Justice Department for prosecution. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said he had never previously voted to hold anyone in contempt but considered Fauci an exception.

A procedural shortcut with constitutional stakes

Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he would personally hand-carry the contempt referral to the Attorney General and the D.C. district court. Standard practice requires the full Senate to vote on such referrals before they go to the Justice Department. Republicans control the chamber, but a filibuster would require 60 votes to break. It is not clear there are even 51.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the committee's ranking Democrat, called Paul's move dangerous, warning it would hand future witnesses a template to resist legitimate congressional oversight. Fauci's attorney, David Schertler, accused Paul of trying to weaponize the Justice Department against his client. The DOJ said it seriously reviews all congressional referrals. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said a prosecution built on Fifth Amendment invocations would almost certainly be rejected in court.

The phone, the U.S. Attorney, and Todd Blanche

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) confirmed that investigators have obtained the Health and Human Services phone Fauci used during the pandemic and said decrypting the device could answer questions Fauci declined to address. Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeannine Pirro dropped a prosecution against former Olympian David Hearn over alleged vandalism of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, drawing a public rebuke from President Donald Trump. Whether that rebuke shapes Pirro's appetite for a Fauci prosecution remains unanswered.

Attorney General Todd Blanche was confirmed after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) cast the decisive vote. Cassidy described his concern about the Justice Department being used to prosecute political enemies, a practice he called "lawfare," and said he was "not entirely satisfied" before voting yes anyway. The Fauci contempt referral arrives on Blanche's desk as one of the first concrete tests of that stated concern.

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