Dr Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during a Senate hearing, prompting Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Rand Paul to consider whether to pursue contempt of Congress proceedings. The dispute matters because it could test the limits of congressional oversight and whether Fauci’s use of constitutional protections can be challenged in court, despite a reported pardon from former President Joe Biden.

Republican senators, including Paul and James Lankford, have criticised Fauci’s refusal to answer questions about the US response to the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed a possible criminal referral. Legal experts cited in the report note that any effort to hold him in contempt would face significant legal hurdles, particularly because the Fifth Amendment protects witnesses from self-incrimination.