Senate Holds Fauci in Contempt as Polaris Demands Chinese Accountability for COVID

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-5 to hold former NIH director Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during testimony on COVID-19 origins and related research. Committee Chairman Rand Paul and Senator Josh Hawley argued that the pardon granted by President Joe Biden removed any prosecution risk, making the Fifth Amendment claim improper.

Fauci’s attorney David Schertler called the vote a crude political stunt. Meanwhile, Polaris National Security released a report stating that accountability should extend beyond Fauci to the Chinese Communist Party, which it accuses of covering up the virus’s origins, obstructing investigations, and exploiting U.S. supply-chain vulnerabilities. The report cites alleged Chinese suppression of data, the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s risky research, and broader threats to American security, recommending a coalition to investigate China, sanctions, and reforms to the WHO. It also calls for stronger U.S. biodefense, supply-chain resilience, and defense spending.