Fauci Pleads the Fifth — Won’t Even Admit a Folder Is Sitting Right in Front of Him

Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before Congress on Wednesday to testify about his handling of the COVID pandemic. And let’s just say that, for a man who fancied himself the most trusted man in America on public health, he completely ruined his reputation by pleading the "Fifth Amendment" repeatedly like a man with something to hide.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) previously released Fauci's personal diary, which clearly showed that what Fauci told the public for years wasn’t exactly what he believed. For example, despite claiming the virus came from the Wuhan wet market, he privately believed it likely leaked from the Wuhan lab his own agency helped fund. The same diary reportedly shows him unusually close to friendly media, including multiple dinners with CNN's Jake Tapper.

Paul opened the hearing by laying out Fauci's motive for burying the lab-leak theory. Admitting it was true would have meant admitting his own agency funded the gain-of-function research that plausibly caused a global pandemic. Paul said Fauci's driving motive the whole time was avoiding personal culpability.

Paul also dug up a 2011 project Fauci defended, research that showed avian flu could be transmitted by air between mammals. Fauci reportedly argued the benefits outweighed the risk, even if a scientist became infected and triggered a pandemic. This is the same man who spent years lecturing Americans about acceptable risk.

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Paul delivered an opening statement on accountability, and noted that a pardon can shield someone from prosecution but cannot rewrite history. No scientist or government official, he said, is beyond accountability. Then he swore Fauci in and turned him loose.

Sen. Rand Paul to Anthony Fauci:

"The COVID lockdown could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime.

Children lost years of education, small businesses built over a lifetime disappeared, patients delayed cancer screenings and other medical care,… pic.twitter.com/ZY1XCkqvHb

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026

Even though Fauci appeared before the committee, he had no intention of providing substantive testimony.

“Therefore, although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government, and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress, under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right, under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, to refrain from answering your questions. Thank you.”

HAPPENING NOW: Anthony Fauci PLEADS THE FIFTH, refuses to speak on COVID-19 or leaked diary entries.

Coward. pic.twitter.com/YpixJgcaSQ

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026

And plead the Fifth, he did — repeatedly.

In fact, Fauci’s efforts to avoid incriminating himself reached an uncanny level of absurdity when he refused to even answer whether there was a red folder in front of him.

"It's a crime under 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 to knowingly make a material false statement to Congress with a penalty up to five years of imprisonment," Paul said. He noted that the CIA, the FBI, and the Department of Energy have all concluded that the virus likely came from the lab in Wuhan, then asked the question Fauci had spent years dodging: "How did you come to the conclusion that a totalitarian country would be capable of doing this in a BSL-2 lab, a lab that lacked the security?" He pressed further, asking whether Fauci regretted the decision and would make the same call today. "Can you explain to the committee why you chose to fund this dangerous research in China?" Paul asked.

Fauci had his answer ready.

"On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution," he said.

Paul tried again. "In the red folder on your table is a copy of Section 192 of Title II of the U.S. Code," Paul said. "Your counsel has been provided a copy as well. That section makes it a crime for a witness appearing under subpoena to refuse to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry. Do you have that in front of you?"

Fauci gave the exact same answer, word for word. “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.”

So, Fauci literally would not confirm whether a folder existed on the table in front of him without invoking a constitutional right against self-incrimination. Paul let the moment speak for itself. "Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there's a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right," Paul said.

Fauci REPEATEDLY invokes the Fifth Amendment before Congress pic.twitter.com/vNCVWu3wjP

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2026

Fauci’s refusal to answer questions appears likely to result in his being found in contempt of Congress.

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