美国COVID-19防疫负责人安东尼·福奇在参议院政府监督委员会的听证会上，以宪法第五修正案为由超过100次拒绝回答关于疫情起源和防疫措施的问题[1]。共和党参议员兰德·保罗主持该听证会，指控福奇隐瞒病毒起源并可能资助过武汉病毒研究[1]。保罗在听证会上驱逐了福奇的律师大卫·谢特勒[1]，并宣称"今天将成为安东尼·福奇在美国国立卫生研究院40年权力滥用的顶点"[1]。福奇对此进行了回应，指责保罗"显然执着于要求我遭受起诉"[1]。
民主党议员将此次听证定性为政治性猎巫[1]。2024年共和党领导的小组委员会调查未发现将福奇与不当行为联系起来的证据[1]，超过150名传染病专家和科学家发表公开信称"没有可信证据支持这些荒谬指控"[1]。委员会主席表示将在下周就是否对福奇的拒证行为进行蔑视法庭处罚进行投票[1]。福奇曾在2025年初获得已卸任总统乔·拜登的赦免[1]。
Anthony Fauci, the former U.S. COVID-19 response coordinator, refused to answer questions more than 100 times by invoking the Fifth Amendment during a contentious Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, citing constitutional protections against self-incrimination [1]. Republican Senator Rand Paul, who led the hearing, accused Fauci of concealing the virus's origins and potentially funding coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology [1]. Fauci countered Paul's allegations, asserting that the senator appeared "clearly bent on having me prosecuted" [1].
The hearing highlighted deep partisan divisions over Fauci's pandemic management. Paul declared that the day represented "the culmination of 40 years of abuse of power" by Fauci at the National Institutes of Health [1], while Democratic lawmakers characterized the proceeding as political persecution [1]. Fauci had received a presidential pardon from outgoing President Joe Biden in early 2025 [1]. During the session, Paul expelled Fauci's attorney, David Schertler, from the hearing room [1].
The Committee chair indicated that a vote on whether to pursue contempt charges against Fauci for his refusals would occur the following week [1]. A 2024 Republican-led subcommittee investigation found no evidence connecting Fauci to misconduct [1], and more than 150 infectious disease experts and scientists issued a public statement declaring that "there is no credible evidence to support these outrageous allegations" [1].