Meghan McCain is not impressed with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony during a contentious Senate hearing.
“Dr. Fauci belongs in jail,” McCain, 41, wrote via X on Wednesday, July 29. “Filet him, Rand Paul.”
Before the hearing began, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul told reporters that he thinks the American people “would be very disappointed” if Fauci, 85, pleads the Fifth instead of answering questions.
“Somebody worked for 40 years for government. I think they have an obligation to explain to Americans how was the decision made, who made the decision, why was the decision made to fund dangerous research in Wuhan, China,” Paul, 63, said via NBC News. “A million Americans died in the pandemic, and they deserve to know why dangerous research was funded to move on. I hope we get that answer today.”
On Wednesday, Fauci — who claimed Paul had an “unhinged” obsession with prosecuting him — declined to answer some questions at a hearing on the origins of Covid and the government’s handling of the pandemic.
In prepared remarks, the On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service author said he wanted to avoid the possibility that Republicans could try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.
While watching the hearings, McCain also praised Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley for his line of questioning against Fauci. (Hawley, 46, accused Fauci of contempt of Congress and claimed the doctor enriched himself during the pandemic by using federal employees and resources to obtain cash awards.)
“Absolute master class by @HawleyMO questioning of Fauci today,” she wrote via X. “Master. Class.”
Some senators, however, came to Fauci’s defense during the intense lines of questioning. Michigan Sen. Gary Peters slammed members of the committee for painting Fauci as a “scapegoat.”
“I think today’s hearing, unfortunately, does real damage,” Peters, 67, claimed. “It’s tempting to turn one person into the scapegoat for a crisis that hundreds of officials across both the Trump and the Biden administration were responsible for handling, and it does so in a way that people that are facing death threats.”
He added, “This is only going to unfortunately deter other scientific experts from public service to understand that this is what they would have to go through as they provide their advice to us.”
According to NBC News, the Senate hearing ended after three hours. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right 106 times during the hearing.
“Throughout his 54-year tenure at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci established a lengthy record of cooperation with Congressional oversight and inquiries, including frequent testimony in both the Senate and the House during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fauci’s attorney said in a statement to Us on Wednesday. “But the circumstances surrounding Dr. Fauci’s appearance today before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, pursuant to a subpoena issued by Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY), regrettably made his continued cooperation impossible. For that reason, on the advice of his legal counsel, Dr. Fauci asserted his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to decline to answer questions.”
The statement continued, “Dr. Fauci devoted his lengthy career to saving millions of lives globally through scientific discovery and sound public health policy. The accusations that Chairman Paul continues to propagate are false and disgraceful, and we will examine all options to hold him accountable.”
