OAN Staff Addie Davis
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Update: 9:45 AM: Senator Rand Paul announced that the committee's contempt of Congress referral for Dr. Anthony Fauci will be hand-delivered to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Following the Thursday morning vote by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to hold Fauci, the former White House chief medical adviser, in contempt of Congress, Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters that the referral would be handed today to the attorney general and the U.S. District Court for D.C.
"This is outside of the ordinary bill-making process, so it doesn't have to go to the House; it doesn't have to be signed by the president; and really, it doesn't have to go before the Senate," he stated.
"There is some precedent for doing it that way, and it still may be done that way. But for now, we will hand-carry this over to the attorney general. We will hand-carry this to the district court here in Columbia…as a committee, we have voted, the majority, to refer this—so that will be accomplished today," Paul continued.
The committee voted on the measure with eight in favor and seven against, including two "nay" votes by proxy.
6:37 AM: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, former White House chief medical adviser, in contempt of Congress.
The Thursday morning vote follows Fauci's refusal to testify during the July 29th hearing over the COVID-19 pandemic and its origins.
At that hearing, Fauci, the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director, invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times, refusing to answer questions about topics related to the virus, as well as declining to answer such questions as which day of the week it was and the color of the carpet in the room.
Fauci viewed the hearing as an effort to trap him into giving unfavorable testimony and declined to participate.
"The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something–anything–that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote 'behind bars,'" Fauci said at the hearing, referring to Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who chairs the committee.
However, many Republican senators pointed to the preemptive pardon Fauci had received by then-President Joe Biden, asking why he still refused to testify.
"Have you refused this pardon, or do you have any reason to believe this full and unconditional pardon, this grant of immunity, would somehow require you to plead the Fifth Amendment," Paul asked during the hearing.
Despite the presidential pardon, some state attorneys general have announced investigations into Fauci for crimes that could be charged at a state level. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is running for Alabama governor and had told Fox News that if he were elected, he would seek to pursue charges against Fauci, told the outlet that the "'pardon' signed by Joe Biden's autopen doesn't apply to state-level crimes."
Though the resolution the committee agreed to adopt on Thursday provides for the President of the Senate–Vice President JD Vance–certifying the committee's report and forwarding it to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia "to the end that Dr. Fauci be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law," it is unclear if the matter will be forwarded to the full Senate for a vote.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
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