By Tom Ozimek

Dr. Anthony Fauci has declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel, days after Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee voted to hold the longtime infectious-diseases official in contempt of Congress.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Fauci’s attorneys notified the panel that he would not participate in a private transcribed interview concerning the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an Aug. 14 letter to Johnson obtained by The Epoch Times, attorneys David Schertler and Danny Onorato said Fauci had already answered questions “honestly and transparently” during numerous congressional appearances and “stands by all his prior testimony.”

The attorneys said Fauci had testified or briefed congressional committees more than 200 times during his 38 years as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), including a two-day transcribed interview and public hearing before a House panel in 2024.

Attorneys Cite Fifth Amendment

The letter said Fauci had already invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a July 29 hearing before the full Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Fauci declined to answer more than 100 questions during that hearing, prompting the committee to vote 8–5 along party lines on Aug. 6 to hold him in contempt. The resolution was then hand-delivered to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.

Schertler and Onorato accused committee Republicans of joining what they called a “years-long vindictive crusade” led by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), against Fauci.

They also argued that Paul’s referral of the contempt resolution to the Justice Department without consideration by the full Senate did not satisfy the statutory requirements for prosecution.

If the committee majority wanted a “good-faith” test of Fauci’s Fifth Amendment claim, the attorneys said, it could bring a civil action in federal court in Washington seeking to compel his testimony.

The letter said Fauci would again invoke the Fifth Amendment if required to appear before Johnson’s subcommittee. The attorneys further argued that any subpoena compelling another appearance would lack a legislative purpose and would serve only to “impermissibly harass or degrade Dr. Fauci for political purposes.”

They also said Fauci and members of his family had faced harassment and death threats since the July 29 hearing.

“Based on all these facts, we must respectfully decline your invitation that Dr. Fauci participate in a voluntary transcribed interview,” the attorneys wrote.

The Epoch Times contacted Schertler for additional comment, including whether Fauci would comply if Johnson issued a separate subpoena compelling his appearance, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Johnson Threatens Legal Action

Johnson said outstanding questions about the federal pandemic response justified seeking Fauci’s testimony.

“The American people deserve answers to legitimate questions regarding our miserably failed response to COVID-19,” Johnson said in a statement. “Some of those questions can only be answered by Dr. Fauci.”

Johnson noted that Fauci had previously said he was “very happy to testify before any congressional oversight committee” and had “nothing to hide.”

“Apparently, he has a lot to hide,” Johnson said.

The Wisconsin Republican said the subcommittee would continue obtaining Fauci’s records and seeking interviews with people who worked with him.

“We will explore our legal options before deciding our next steps,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s subcommittee recently obtained a copy of Fauci’s government-issued iPhone that he used during the pandemic.

The device, acquired from the Department of Health and Human Services, contained more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails, according to lawmakers.

Johnson and Paul on Aug. 10 released a batch of messages from January 2021 in which Fauci, then-CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and then-Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy discussed the limited data available on COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

In one exchange, Fauci said fever and cytokine responses following a second vaccine dose “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.” He also noted that no safety problems had emerged among more than 10,000 pregnant women who had chosen to receive the vaccine and that animal toxicology studies had produced no warning signs.

Johnson and Paul said the messages raised questions about whether the public had been adequately informed about potential risks when federal officials recommended vaccination for pregnant women.

Fauci, one of the federal government’s most prominent public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, led the NIAID from 1984 until stepping down in December 2022.

Aldgra Fredly and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.