Latest / GNN Daily Breaking News / Senate Panel Votes Fauci in Contempt

Transcript

Senate Panel Votes Fauci in Contempt · GNN Daily Breaking News

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A Senate panel has voted to hold doctor Anthony Fauci
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: in contempt of Congress, escalating a bitter political fight over
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: his role in the nation's COVID one nine response. The decision,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: advanced by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reflects
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: deep partisan divisions and sets up a potential referral to
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the Justice Department. The vote followed a contentious hearing in
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: which Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than one hundred times,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: refusing to answer questions about pandemic decision making and the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: origins of COVID one nine. Committee chair Senator Ran Paul
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: argued that Fauci's refusal was invalid because he had already
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: received a twenty twenty five presidential pardon from Joe Biden
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: covering pandemic related prosecutions. Paul accused Fauchi of stonewalling, saying
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: the public deserves accountability. Democrats on the panel rejected the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: contempt resolution, calling it a political stunt. They defend Fauci's record,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: noting his decades of service as director of the National
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and his role as
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: a leading public health voice during the pandemic. The contempt
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: vote now raises questions about next steps. Normally, such a
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: resolution would require a full Senate vote before referral to
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: the Justice Department, but Paul has suggested bypassing that process
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: directly sending the matter to the DOJ, which is currently
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: led by Attorney General Jeanine Piro, a Trump Ally. Whether
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: the department pursues charges remains uncertain. Beyond Congress, Fauci faces
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: scrutiny at the state level. Attorneys general in Louisiana, Florida,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: and Alabama have opened investigations into his pandemic conduct. Legal
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: experts note that federal pardons do not shield against state charges,
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: leaving Fauci exposed to multiple fronts of inquiry. The move
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: underscores how Fauci's legacy remains polarizing. To supporters, he is
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: a scientist who guided the country through an unprecedented crisis.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: To critics, he symbolizes government overreach and flawed pandemic policies.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: The contempt vote is unlikely to resolve that divide, but
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: it intensifies the political and legal battles surrounding one of
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: the most recognizable figures of the COVID one nine era