Dr. AnthonyCNN’s senior legal analyst, Elie Honig, said Dr.Anthony Fauci might face serious consequences soon after a Senate committee decided to hold him in contempt.
Honig was on CNN with John Berman, Sara Sidner, and Kate Bolduan.
The committee, led by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), made this decision after Dr. Fauci used the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during his recent appearance. He refused to answer questions about the pandemic.
Honig explained that Fauci has a “valid, legal right” to refuse to answer because his pardon from former President Joe Biden only protects him from federal crimes, not state crimes.
He also mentioned that there are ongoing state-level investigations into Dr. Fauci, and he could be charged for anything that happens after January 19, 2025.
James Uthmeier, Florida’s attorney general, has already sent a subpoena to Dr.
Fauci.
Sidner then asked about the real impact of this contempt vote.
Honig said that usually, a committee vote on contempt would go to the full Senate, but Paul believes it doesn’t need to.
He warned that contempt votes can result in real criminal charges, pointing out that both Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro spent months in jail after being held in contempt for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot.
Honig said:
Dr. Fauci has not been indicted right now. He’s not under any criminal charge for contempt, but what happens now is going to be the really important decision. It goes over to the Justice Department, specifically by law, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who’s made a lot of news recently over the reflecting pool case. She, presumably along with the attorney general, will make a decision, do we bring a criminal contempt prosecution against Dr. Fauci? This has been done in different circumstances. But in recent memory, for example, Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, both were prosecuted, they were indicted, they were tried, they were convicted, and both went to prison for four months for contempt of Congress in relation to the January 6 investigation back in 2022-23. So this is real. I mean, the stakes here for Dr. Fauci could potentially be, depending what DOJ decides, a criminal indictment and prosecution.
About the Author
