Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions at Covid hearing, calls Sen. Rand Paul ‘unhinged’

Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer senators’ questions at a contentious hearing Wednesday on the origins of Covid and the government’s handling of the pandemic, saying he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid the possibility that Republicans would use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury. The surprise decision set the stage for a hyperpartisan hearing that yielded no new revelations about the origins of the coronavirus or the government response to the pandemic. But the absence of Fauci’s testimony presented plenty of opportunities for Republicans and Democrats to put forth dueling narratives about those issues — and about Fauci himself.