Fauci Pleaded the Fifth Over 100 Times — Now Rand Paul Is Coming for Him With a Contempt Vote

The contempt question then goes to the DOJ. Whether Merrick Garland’s former colleagues there pursue it is an open question — but the political and legal pressure is now squarely on them.

And Biden’s pardon, it turns out, may not be the bulletproof shield everyone assumed. Catherine Herridge reported before the hearing that a former senior DOJ prosecutor identified three viable legal strategies to challenge it. One involves charging Fauci with a crime and letting him file a motion to dismiss on pardon grounds — which would put the pardon’s scope before a federal court for the first time. Another involves the contempt route Paul is already pursuing. A third involves flipping Dr. David Morens — Fauci’s closest associate, now indicted on multiple federal charges including conspiracy and destruction of federal records — into a cooperating witness.

Morens, for those who need a reminder, was the senior NIAID advisor who communicated on personal email accounts specifically to evade FOIA requests, who coordinated with Fauci about which information to keep off official channels, and who has pleaded not guilty to all five federal counts against him. He has every incentive to cooperate. The question is whether prosecutors give him an incentive compelling enough to override his loyalty.