Below is my column on Fox.com on yesterday’s “testimony” from Dr. Anthony Fauci. Americans deserve answers to the questions raised by his diary and other remarks. The most likely course to gain such answers would be through an immunity grant. The impact of a pardon on invocations is a bit murky but, as I stated yesterday, the odds favor Fauci in a court finding that he can still invoke the privilege. In any challenge, a court would likely find that there remains a risk of self-incrimination. What is clear is that many in Washington would prefer Fauci to remain silent on the questions raised by his diary.
Here is the column:
“Stick with the science and never veer from that, even when the science turns out to be an inconvenient truth for somebody.” Dr. Anthony Fauci delivered those words to Georgetown students in 2017 as the touchstone of medical ethics. Today, before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, that line was replaced by Fauci in repeating “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.”
The optics could not have been worse, but what you saw depended largely on how you viewed the hearing. For critics, Fauci sounded like Crazy Joe Gallo without the sunglasses. For supporters, Fauci is still a hero who refused to fall into a trap laid out before him. Democratic senators such as Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) actually praised Fauci for refusing to answer questions before Congress.
There is no question that it is Fauci’s right to refuse to invoke his privilege against self-incrimination and many advised him to do so. It could be taken for strategic reasons separate from any criminal culpability. After all, he was given a last-minute pardon by President Joe Biden, and any false statements he made before the Committee could be used to bring criminal charges against him.
However, Fauci is unlike many who have invoked the privilege. While many past witnesses have invoked the privilege in being called to Congress, Fauci has testified for days in countless prior hearings. He also has appeared in countless interviews on these issues. He had reason to fear this hearing after his diary revealed startling contradictions with what he was stating publicly.
The question many will ask is why Fauci could not just “stick with the science” and resolve these contradictions. The fact is that he would have had difficulty in dealing with his own “inconvenient truths.”
Fauci’s opening statement expressed obvious anger over the release of his “unredacted diary.”
The new evidence shows that Fauci connected the Wuhan lab to the emerging crisis before most people had ever heard of the lab. It also shows him repeatedly referencing the lab’s gain-of-function work and discounted the “wet market” as the true origin of the virus as opposed to an “amplifier.”
Some of the most embarrassing areas for Fauci concerned his entries acknowledging that he pushed to close schools, despite public denials that he ever recommended such closures. His entries take credit for convincing figures such as then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the staff of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and others to close the schools.
In an Oct. 16, 2022, ABC interview, Fauci repeated that denial: “They always come back and say, ‘Fauci was responsible for shutting schools down.’ I had nothing to do [with it]!”
The media has also taken the Fifth on these subjects, declining to publish many of these contradictions. They have the same reason as Fauci: there are no spins that would reconcile their own prior coverage and gushing reviews of Fauci. The diary entries also show disturbing references to private meetings with media figures.
Fauci’s diary refers to CNN anchor Jake Tapper 41 times. In some entries, Fauci suggested that the host was concerned about crafting an interview to better serve Fauci: “Jake wanted to make sure the interview did not cause me any problems.” Fauci also related how he met socially with Tapper in July 2020: “Had dinner over Jake Tapper and Jen Tapper’s home in DC. Terrific couple. Friendship building.” (Notably, on October 14, 2020, CNN published a report repeating the condemnation of the dangers of “small household gatherings.”).
The diary revealed an obsession with his publicity and access to celebrities. The diary is replete with his gushing accounts of himself, such as “It is not hyoperbole [sic] to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable peson [sic] in the world.”
The fact is that diaries tend to be self-obsessed, and no one would want their unvarnished private thoughts made public. Rather, my gripe with these passages is something I have previously written in criticism of Fauci. During this period, dissenting scientists were barred from social media, removed from positions, and vilified for expressing views, despite now being vindicated on subjects ranging from the lab origin of the virus, the efficacy of masks, the six-foot rule, natural immunities, and school closures.
As these courageous scientists were being abused (by academic and media figures who still hold their positions), Fauci said not a word in their defense despite privately acknowledging that they could be right.
Yet, Fauci remained silent as his allies in the media savaged those who voiced the view that the virus was man-made and escaped from the lab.
In 2021, New York Times science and health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was still calling on reporters not to mention the “racist” lab theory. (Federal agencies found the lab theory to be the most credible despite Fauci claiming publicly that a natural origin was the most likely explanation).
Fauci stayed silent while relishing his celebrity status. Indeed, his diary shows no concerns for these scientists as he breathlessly recounted his bobbleheads and cover shoots.
Once again, Fauci has every right to invoke his constitutional rights, but the public has every right to demand answers to these questions related to the deaths of 1,238,563 Americans. That may result in a grant of immunity to compel him to answer these questions.
If it is any solace for Fauci, he will clearly be able to maintain that he is “the most famous and talked about person in the country.”
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
Ever notice nobody feels betrayed by pro wrestling? Okay, perhaps a few do, but it’s because it never promised to be real. Sports and government both promise something different, a fair contest with a real outcome. Break that promise and there’s nothing left holding it up.
Now take it further. Losing interest in a rigged sport just means you change the channel. But when the people running gain of function funding, lockdowns, school closures, and the lies about all of it never get held accountable, you can’t just change the channel. You still have to live in what they built. That’s not disappointment. That’s betrayal with your kids’ lives attached to it.
Keep doing that to people and you get one of two things. Total cynicism, where nobody believes a word out of Washington. Or blind tribalism, where people quit even asking if it’s true and just root for their team no matter what. Either one kills self-government.
Because self-government only works if people still believe the game is real enough to be worth playing.
The politicization of an epidemic — of a disease — was started by activist Democrat zealots in early 2020. The alarming news from China and Northern Italy arrived at the beginning of a Presidential election year. What can only be described a gutter-scortched-Earth tactic emerged from the trenches of Dem skullduggery:
Why not blame the President for every Covid-19 death? Let’s lay every US death at his feet.
In the decades before social media, you had editors and TV producers acting as gatekeepers over published opinion. Their job was to choose what was fit to print and broadcast. Looking back, Turley could easily miscast this gatekeeper role as “censorship”. But, back then it was accepted as “common sense”. Blaming the President for deaths caused by a disease makes zero sense — unless you imagine he has a magic wand he can wave over people to save their lives — and refuses to wield it. Before social media, blaming the President for harms beyond his control would be late-night-tavern-talk — definitely not publishable opinion.
How do you imagine this conniving, deranged political tactic — never before permitted — landed on public health officials and Governors? Blaming them for every Covid death suddenly became fair game.
You have to understand the perverse nature of unmoderated social media (and its amplification by mainstream media for sensationalist alarmism) to see how the political class panicked and overreacted with policy that looks irrational in hindsight. Democrat operatives — empowered by Twitter — redefined medical disease as a campaign weapon.
Years later, here we are still unable to come together to agree on the factual causation of the pandemic. That dysfunction — that paralysis — is a direct result of eliminating responsible-adult gatekeepers over our public media 20 years ago.
It’s exactly what happens when unhinged militancy is awarded amplification.
Anybody got standing to pursue a civil suit against this guy for injury for resulting from taking the vac, or from things he said about his colleagues who disagreed with his public statements about COVID or it’s source, or the vac, or from making cash awards to him. Or any other example from his diary showing he made knowingly false statements about people, Covid, its source, or vac? Surely a pardon doesn’t cover civil liability for making injurious and knowingly false statements. Let’s get him on the stand in a civil trial. Even if he refuses to speaking in his defense, let’s see who will, and let a jury decide.
Dr. Fauci joins Dr. Mengele in infamy. What an evil megalomaniac.
You are off the rocker. Fauci who worked hard to save Americans from a pandemic is the opposite of one of the worst war criminals in history. However it is very on brand for a MAGA to not know the difference.
Fauci may have caused the pandemic, lied about the efficacy of masks, distancing, the vaccine and school closures. But Sally knows better.
I see you’ve had your daily dose of KoolAid already this morning.
I would like to thank you Sally.
Despite the evidence in his own diary, you are still a true believer.
And a useful idiot.
One thing leftys cannot do is admit they were wrong. They are totally ego-driven and their ego is maniacal in it’s grip on them.
Humility to them is a dirty word. Imagine! Sally won’t even believe her own Saint Fauci’s own words if they cause her to have to admit she’s been wrong.
It’s weird because even I can hear Sally’s conscience crying out to her and she’s deaf to it.
“At this moment, smooching anyone is verboten, even reckless, but in isolation and in
daydreams, lots of Americans are thinking about planting one on a 79-year-old
immunologist.” Sally’s got a boyfriend! Sally and Fauci sitting in a tree…
Fauci is a modern day Dr. Frankenstein. His hubris and ego cost millions their lives.
Explain ONE action of Fauci’s that saved even ONE life. You will not be able to meet my challenge Sally the insincere.
LOLOLOLOLOL!
once he is granted immunity about the conduct he is being questioned about, he can no longer take the 5th
Biden’s pardon gave him that immunity (at the federal level, which is all that the federal government can grant in any case)
so he did not have the constitutional right to remain silent.
He had the right to remain silent. You can still invoke the 5th if he has reason to believe he can be prosecuted. Since Sen. Paul is using his dairy to ask questions that would contradict his past statements under oath it would be considered perjury. Because he CAN be prosecuted for perjury if he answers Sen. Paul’s questions he absolutely can invoke his 5th amendment right to remain silent and not answer Sen. Paul’s questions. Sen. Paul knows this and it is the source of his frustration and anger. Because he cannot force Fauci to answer them and therefore he cannot “catch him committing perjury”.
Invoking the 5th is the absolute right legal strategy for Fauci.
“Since Sen. Paul is using his dairy to ask questions that would contradict his past statements under oath it would be considered perjury.”
No, no, no. He cannot be prosecuted for perjuring himself from 2014 (the year of EcoHealth Alliance funding, BTW) to 2025 because of the blanket pardon. He could only be prosecuted for crimes committed during THAT hearing. Admitting that he lied during prior testimony is barred from prosecution.
He could have proclaimed he personally brought the virus back from Wuhan in his luggage with the intent of killing millions, shutting down the economy, harming our children’s education, forcing thousands from their jobs, and affecting the outcome of the election, all in the interest of China, and there’s not a damn thing that the Feds could do to him.
That’s what I pointed out. He invoked the 5th precisely because he could be prosecuted for answering questions in THAT hearing. Because he would be exposed to committing perjury by answering questions about his dairy.
only if he lies. Why would he do that since he insists this is all personal and has no reality. Won’t the truth set him free?
Gee X, can you attribute any responibilty to Fauci or are you that much of a girly faunci- fanboy? I see a lot of romantic thoughts voiced towards fauci in his diary, can we attribute any of them to you?
or his diary
No it is not what you pointed out.
You keep misrepresenting the 5th.
There is no right to lie.
There is no grant of immunity for lies you have not yet told.
Fauxi can not be prosecuted for telling the Truth about the past – even if that truth is damning.
But he can and will be prosecuted for lying.
The 5th amendment does not protect you from revealing embarrassing truths.
You have a 5th amendment right to not testify truthfully about a PAST act that could result in your prosecution FOR THAT ACT.
There is no “I am about to lie, therefore I am going to plead the 5th” right.
There is no these senators are mean I am going to plead the 5th right.
There is no “their out to get me so I am going to plead the 5th right.
Only if he lies
The 5th amendment is not forward looking.
There is no form of forward looking immunity.
Brown v. Walker, 161 U.S. 591 (1896)
Held: Immunity affords absolute immunity against prosecution, Federal or state, for the offence to which the question relates, and deprives the witness of his constitutional right to refuse to answer.
“He cannot be prosecuted for perjuring himself from *2014* . . . (emphasis added)
But he can be for perjuring himself from *2012* — which is when the NIH/EcoHealth/Wuhan shell game started. Whoever lobbied for Fauci’s pardon (and the start date of Jan. 1, 2014) did not do their homework.
“with the intent of killing millions, shutting down the economy, harming our children’s education, forcing thousands from their jobs, and affecting the outcome of the election, all in the interest of China”
c’mon, that’s a bit much, some of that wasn’t planned, just a ‘bonus’ outcome of his world-domination schemes.
Did you expect him to explain how we would all die from his machinations and then leave us alone without making sure we’re dead like some Bond villain? This guy’s a *Professional*!
Brown v. Walker (1896): The Court explicitly stated, “If the witness has already received a pardon, he cannot longer set up his privilege, since he stands, with respect to such offense, as if it had never been committed.”.
Burdick v. United States (1915): The Court added a critical nuance, ruling that a person has the right to reject a presidential pardon. However, if they choose to accept the pardon, they forfeit their Fifth Amendment privilege regarding those specific pardoned crimes.
So we are to believe that fauci, knowing that he lied and will be caught in that perjury, feels that the autopen blanket pardon going back to 2014 does not protect him from being exposed as a liar and perjurer?
I suppose we should investigate just what that pardon referred to and see if any and all perjuries with regard to congressional testimony in the times between 2014 and 2025 were included.
Whimsicalmama, you’re confused. A pardon does not protect against future violations of the law. He cannot be prosecuted for statements he made during the period the pardon covers. The hearing will require Fauci to make brand new statements. Those are NOT covered under his pardon.
He’s not lying if he doesn’t say anything new. That’s why invoking the 5th protects him for incriminating himself with new statements. It’s his absolute legal right.
Yes! a scumbag MUST protect themselves! he cannot say anything true as that would damn him, and he cannot lie as that would damn him.
What a pickle for his pride to have to sit silent with only his lawyers hand on his shoulder to hold back that impulsive massive ego.
That’s the way I see it too, but it seems to be up for debate as to just what he may be afraid of. If he states something that contradicts his original testimony to congress in a period covered by the autopen pardon, would that still be something that he could be found guilty of – say – perjury?
“A pardon does not protect against future violations of the law.”
Correct NOTHING protects against future violations of the law.
” He cannot be prosecuted for statements he made during the period the pardon covers. ”
False -= he can not be prosecuted for ANY federal crimes he committed during the covered period.
“The hearing will require Fauci to make brand new statements. Those are NOT covered under his pardon.”
Correct. But the pardon \requires him to testify truthfully about the past because he can not be prosecuted for past crimes.
“He’s not lying if he doesn’t say anything new.”
Correct – he is in contempt.
He has 3 choices.
Tell the truth
perjure himself
or be held in contempt.
“That’s why invoking the 5th protects him for incriminating himself with new statements.”
the 5th protects you from Statements about the PAST that could lead to prosecution in the present.
There is no I am going to lie to avoid embarrassment, therefore I am invoking the 5th.
The 5th precludes you being force to tell the truth about PAST acts that might lead to prosecution.
There is not “I am about to lie” 5th amendment right.
“. A pardon does not protect against future violations of the law.”
Correct and the 5th amendment does protect you from future perjury.
“The hearing will require Fauci to make brand new statements. Those are NOT covered under his pardon.”
Correct and they are not covered by the 5th amendment.
“He’s not lying if he doesn’t say anything new. ”
Your 5th amendment right is specifc to Past acts, not what you might do or are about to do.
You are trying to convert the 5th amendment into a right not to testify because I might commit perjury.
It is not. It is the right to refuse to give evidence against yourself for past conduct that could lead to criminal prosecution.
It does not apply to the future. It does not apply when you can not be prosecuted.,
The courts have repeatedly ruled that you can not refuse to testify about things you can not be prosecuted for.
No one aside from you has ever tried to make the stupid claim that it protects you against testifying because you MIGHT commit perjurty in the future.
Regardless the courts have repeatedly ruled that if you have a pardon or other grant of immunity you do not have a 5th amendment right
There is no 5th amendment right with respect to statements you have not yet made.
The 5th amendment is not protection against committing a crime. It is protection against testifying about something that already happened. that yo0u could be prosecuted for.
Careful, quoting the actual governing laws attracts X types.
“as if it had never been committed.”
Yeah, see? it’s AS IF Fauci DIDN’T kill millions of people with his virus research! That’s the world I want to live in! /S
And all it took was a pardon, and *poof* Fauci DIDN’T kill millions of people with his virus research! Magic! No crime happened!
That’s powerful stuff! I wonder if a pardon could cure cancer?
Of course, I’m joking, we live in the world where a bureaucrat can kill sitting at their desk, armed with just their paperwork and ego.
Not so true X, He CANNOT be prosecuted for perjury!
.
.
.
Unless he lies. why would he do that?
The truth is what Fauci fears. Did you see his hand trembling as he read his statement? Knows he’s in deep…
“he CAN be prosecuted for perjury if he answers Sen. Paul’s questions ” This is the truest statement ever uttered by X because any question answered truthfully will damn him, and now so would any lie. This is what it took to get this man to stop lying to us.
I notice X did not address the whole “SCOTUS already ruled on 5th protections for the pardoned” but I really don’t expect X to know anything about the law.
I see why X loves fauci, same ego-centric know-it-all hubris he has.
But wrong for the rest of humanity.
“He had the right to remain silent. You can still invoke the 5th if he has reason to believe he can be prosecuted.”
FOR PAST ACTS
SCOTUS has repeatedly ruled that there is no 5th amendment right when truthful testimony can not lead to prosecution.
“Since Sen. Paul is using his dairy to ask questions that would contradict his past statements under oath it would be considered perjury.”
There is no 5th amendment right to perjure your self.
I have noted the elements of perjury elsewhere – regardless it requires a knowingly false and material statement under oath.
If Fauxi testifies and that testimony is false he can b e prosecuted., He can avoid prosecution by testifying truthfully.
Pretty much everyone KNOWS that if Fauxi testifies truthfully he is going to contradict past lies under oath or to the public.
And that is exactly what Paul and republicans want. They Want Fauxi to admit to having lied in the past, to having engaged in corruption, to having broken the law. He is immune from prosecution for this so has has no 5th amendment right to remain silent regarding them.
There is no such thing as forward immunity.
You can not invoke the 5th because otherwise you are going to lie. you get to invole the 5th ONLY because telling the truth would subject you to prosecution.
Perjury is lying under oath. It is not telling an embarrassing truth.
It is not admitting to lying in the past.
I have heard three arguments as to why he can plead the fifth notwithstanding the pardon:
1. The pardon doesn’t cover anything after Jan 20, 2025. This is a weak argument. The questions can be limited to the period covered by the pardon. And to plead the fifth because Fauci might be prosecuted for lying to Congress in his answers is an absurdity; on that basis anyone could plead the fifth at any time.
2. He might be prosecuted by states under state law because the pardon only covers federal crimes. But as Mike Davis has argued, no state can prosecute a federal official for conduct in his official capacity. All the questions here relate to Fauci’s official conduct.
3. The pardon may be invalid. This is unlikely.
These issues would presumably have to be resolved if Fauci is prosecuted for contempt and raises these arguments in his defense.
Maybe the dogs can sue him for the torture he did to them.
Daniel, he cannot be prosecuted for what’s he said in the past. But he absolutely can be prosecuted for what he says at the hearing. By answering the questions he exposes himself to charges of perjury which are NEW statements. Therefore his invocation of the 5th is perfectly legal. Even professor Turley acknowledges Fauci is very likely to succeed in any litigation challenging his invocation of the 5th.
I addressed that in point 1. To say you won’t answer questions because you might be prosecuted for lying in your answers would mean that anyone could plead the fifth at any time he is called before Congress. That is absurd.
Why would it be absurd? It’s a perfectly valid reason to invoke the 5th. If there is reason to believe he would be prosecuted for perjury he can absolutely invoke his right against self incrimination. Even Turley acknowledges is his absolute right.
If it ever gets to court, we’ll see.
It won’t get to court. Congress can’t charge him with contempt for invoking his right to not answer questions. That’s the whole point of being able to invoke the 5th.
The Senate can pass a resolution saying he is in contempt. He could also be referred to the DoJ for obstruction of an investigation.
The DoJ would then decide whether to prosecute. In making that decision the DoJ would consider the legitimacy of his invocation of the 5th.
If they decided to prosecute, the court would then have to consider whether invoking the 5th was legitimate and thus a defense.
That’s how it could get to a court. My guess is that it won’t.
Correct – because eventually Fauxi is going to agree to testify.
Contempt of Congress
I do not think this will get to court – because there will be some kind of deal.
But if Fauxi absolutely refuses to testify – he will be charged and convicted of contempt.
I do not control the senate, but I think it is likely they will offer him immunity.
Any immunity would be redundant with the pardon so there is no cost.
he can not be prosecuted regardless.
The senate is NOT going to offer “If you perjure yourself you will not be prosecuted” – and even if they did – he would still be prosecuted and convicted. The government can not give you permission to lie under oath.
United States v. Apfelbaum, 445 U.S. 115 (1980)
Held: Because proper invocation of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination allows a witness to remain silent, but not to swear falsely, neither § 6002 nor the Fifth Amendment precludes the use of respondent’s immunized grand jury testimony at a subsequent prosecution for making false statements, so long as that testimony conforms to otherwise applicable rules of evidence.
If you have immunity and you lie you will be charged and convicted of perjury
Fauxi already has immunity.
This is from the Kansas Supreme court but it is a good summary
“The Fifth Amendment protects a witness from being compelled to testify when there exists a “legitimate risk” of self-incrimination.
The eligibility to invoke this privilege does not extend to protecting against the possibility of a speculative future perjury charge.
A grant of statutory use and derivative use immunity, as offered by the State, is coextensive with the Fifth Amendment privilege and effectively extinguishes it in this context.”
“While immunity protects an individual from criminal prosecution, immunized statements and testimony may nonetheless be available for use against a witness in noncriminal matters, such as civil proceedings, disciplinary proceedings and tax proceedings, and may prompt nonjudicial consequences, such as the loss of a job or license. Additionally, a person who has been granted immunity may subsequently be prosecuted for perjury as a result of inconsistent and conflicting statements.”
There is no form of immunity that allows you to perjure yourself AFTER receiving immunity.
Perjury requires lies.
Fauxi can not be prosecuted for PAST perjury – only current perjury.
The 5th amendment precludes being compelled to testify about the PAST when that might lead to prosecution for PAST acts.
yes, your argument is absurd.
If the law were as you claim anyone could claim that they MIGHT perjure themselves so they will not testify.
Keep saying it X! We don’t deserve answers from the highest paid federal employee on how millions ended up dead worldwide! no one cares about that old news. Just because fauci knows everything doesn’t mean we get to partake in his science too. just accept that if Fauci had to explain it to us, like “what is gain of function”, we’re certainly not smart enough to understand the answer, or why millions died from it, only Fauci can understand all that, what with his incredibly superior intellect, above the whole of mankind he stands above all men, ready to defend his science from anyone who dares try to question his giant computer-like brain, developed by supernatural forces to be the greatest brain ever evolved in the history of the world. With just a few powerful words from his expert science-mouth, thousands are moved to action!
Well kids, That’s the story of Fearless Fauci Fights Funky Frankenstein Flu! Tune in next week as your favorite fauch-meister faces peril again as he stares down the dreaded “Justice System!” and as a reminder, collect your own Fauci bobbleheads, now free in every package of Covid vaccine!
” But he absolutely can be prosecuted for what he says at the hearing.”
Only if he lies.
The 5th amendment does not protect you from prosecution for your CURRENT testimony.
It precludes you being forced to TELL THE TRUTH about PAST conduct that may lead to prosecution.
To be entitled to 5th amendment protection .
Your TRUTHFUL Testimony must expose you to possible prosecution for PAST misconduct.
” By answering the questions he exposes himself to charges of perjury which are NEW statements.”
Only if he lies.
The 5th amendment does not apply to the future.
Official capacity to circumvent US law on outlawed gain of function by putting it in the hands of our adversary? That was in his job description?
When the punishment comes, Fauci is gonna name names.
Before he got too far into his endless invoking of the 5th, he should have been asked if he had rejected the pardon or if he was doing that now. Regardless of the legality of his pardon, if he rejected it then there would been no question of his absolute right to invoke the 5th in the hearing yesterday.
In the winter of 2019, Trump largely ignored the pandemic in Asia.
In the Spring of 2020, Trump suggesting possibly drinking or injecting yourself with industrial bleach cleaner. This led to a panic among bleach manufacturers telling Americans NOT to drink or inject oneself with bleach cleaner.
Then Trump suggested the hot summer weather in 2020 would fix the pandemic.
Since Trump didn’t have a medical degree (like Fauci’s decades of experience), Trump’s inaction and dereliction of duty nearly stopped the American economy. No customers in restaurants, hotels, airlines and few Americans were commuting to work.
Since Trump nearly stopped the economy through inaction, Biden and Congress with the best of intentions had to financially fund the American economy. The risk was a worldwide Great Depression worst than the early 1900’s.
You can criticize any president or politician for intentional dereliction of duty, but both Fauci and Biden made an honest effort to save lives and prevent a Great Depression. Trump never made an honest effort, he ignored the experts.
Then Trump and MAGA voters criticized Biden trying to fix the mess Trump made by putting too much cash into the economy.
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it…..
“In the Spring of 2020, Trump suggesting possibly drinking or injecting yourself with industrial bleach cleaner.”
False story created by the evil press. Same MO as the press’s Charlottesville lies.
IIRC Trump was referring to a study that used some type of sanitizer to kill virus that had attached itself to the linings of airways.
The press has become the enemy of the American people
What a blossoming TDS you have! Keep feeding it that fertilizer and someday it will take over your whole life like kudzu!
Riiight….
That’s not quite how I recall that. I recall Trump trying to shutdown air travel from those countries and being called a racist. I recall Trump being handed an empty medicine cabinet by the Obama and Biden Administration, insufficient respirators and masks s/. Seems you live in a completely different universe, I also recall Trump sending a medical Ship to NY City where Andrew Cuomo was putting actively contagious Covid patients into elderly care centers killing hundreds. This hospital ship sat at the port and went unused by Democrat Cuomo for political purposes. Same sheep then as the sheep you are now!
You are a LIAR.
Re: “In the winter of 2019, Trump largely ignored the pandemic in Asia…” In December of 2019 the matter at large was deemed a local issue confined to Wuhan. By the end of January 2020, based upon information coming out of Chian, Trump had imposed travel restrictions from China whereupon the POTUS candidate Biden accused his opponent of hysterical xenophobia and continued to do so well into the Spring of the year, understanding that this was a serious crisis that one should not allow to go to waste. Politics and poker in the face of a world wide public health disaster.
While the optics for Fauci are undeniably poor, invoking his Fifth Amendment right is the correct legal strategy. As Professor Turley pointed out, Fauci has legitimate reason to fear prosecution, particularly since Senator Paul is using Fauci’s diary in an attempt to entrap him into perjury. While Congress could grant immunity, the public has largely moved on from the pandemic. Instead, this probe serves as a political distraction from pressing issues like the economy and the conflict with Iran, fueled primarily by Paul’s fixation on targeting Fauci. Ultimately, any legal challenge to Fauci’s Fifth Amendment defense is bound to fail.
Perjury requires lies. Why would he lie?
An autopen blanket pardon covering a range of years and not specifying a crime seems far out of bounds. I always though a pardon followed a sentence. Fauci’s pardon needs to become part of a test case.
And Trump says he’ll honor Fauci’s pardon. Why would he surrender without a fight?
Sickness abounds.
He was doing the best he could. It was a new and very deadly virus and if he was to err, he wanted to err on the side of caution. Many theories were kicked around. Scientists change their minds. His instinct to encourage wearing masks was healthy, saving who knows how many lives, and the 6 foot rule didn’t hurt anyone. Masks worn in restaurants were less effective because people had to expose themselves to the virus every-time they took a bite. He is blamed for the tragic deaths of over a million Americans and, at the same time, damned for not doing more.
Everyone in America stuck doing a job that doesn’t inspire awe by the public would be just as smitten with the publicity he got and the celebrities he met. Trust me.
He did not know everything that went on. He blindly assigned work projects recommended by trusted assistants whose job it was to advise him. Tens of thousands of projects required his okay. No one knows to this day how the hell that virus started. Viruses are more than tricky, They are, right now, mutating millions of times a second. They prowl night and day seeking ways to adapt so they can kill us. This is the Age of the Virus, and we ain’t seen nothin yet, baby. They are so close to being alive. They are more than genius and clever in their pursuit of our destruction. Yours and mine.
Are you a relative of his, a secrete lover, or a paid PR agency?
You are correct, no one was perfect or knew without doubt … but we were told to trust the science, embodied by one person.
The “science” didn’t exist. This sucker flew in like a tornado on no one’s radar. It was baffling. The trials testing vaccines DID met proper testing procedures, They algorithmed their way into testing with just as much accuracy in much less time. Every second ticked by with more slain by this microscopic hatchet. The science? How many scientific theories came and went, He was trying to save lives. Even Turley is clueless about the nature of modern viruses. And this kind of pandemic based on novel viruses will destroy billions of people in the near future.
Indeed math and science are lost on Americans
The proper response is “We don’t know but we’re going to find out “. Anything else causes our scientists to act like politicians and our politicians to act like scientists.
“The “science” didn’t exist.”
That’s odd.
At the time, Fauci and his minions decreed that the “science” was settled (by them):
The virus came from bats. It can kill anyone. The vaccine protects you from contracting the virus. Going to school will kill children. Visiting grandma in the hospital will kill her. Going to the beach, park, a gym is “science-denial.” Wearing one (or five) masks keeps the virus at bay. “Science” decrees the closing of businesses and churches, the banning of public protests, government-mandated vaccines.
Oh, and Lord Fauci’s “settled science” decreed that any scientist who dissented should be silenced, ridiculed, ostracized.
Sam,
Well said.
I knew we were at the pinnacle of absurdity when I saw people, wearing masks, in their cars, by themselves.
And, the picture of two high school wrestlers who were allowed to wrestle but were not allowed to shake hands before the start of the match (a tradition), nor was the ref allowed to hold up the hand/arm of the winner. He had to make a pointing gesture, despite standing right in between the two competitors.
I still see people, wearing masks, in their cars, by themselves. Fauci broke a lot of people. We tripled our mental patients with his lies.
I saw a woman in the early days wearing latex gloves walking her dog and wondered what happens when you get home — you bring the dog and leash inside and take off the gloves? Soon I was picking up latex gloves out of the gutter to put in the trash. Never got sick until late 2022.
You left out “and it didn’t come from fauci’s lab that he didn’t start in violation US law that didn’t kill millions that he didn’t try to cover up and I know this to be true, just believe me because somehow i have a special way of knowing these things”
“You left out . . .”
Good addition.
I also forgot to add:
According to “I-am-science” Fauci, natural immunity is not a thing.
As I understand it, a contempt resolution needs 60 votes for cloture to pass the Senate. In other words, nothing is going to happen to Fauci, as all the Democrats will protect him. This is all grandstanding.
I think it’s by majority vote.
No, contempt only needs 50 votes.
Almost all of the Republican members of Congress vaccinated their entire families and then went back for follow-up vaccine boosters – all thanks to Dr. Fauci’s top priority of saving lives.
So you have a bunch of partisan cowardly members of Congress that benefited from Fauci’s vaccine project, attacking a non-partisan professional doctor with a backbone simply trying to save lives.
Your preacher calls this “bearing false witness”!
What was them so called famous words. Get the shot, you won’t get CV. Get the shout you won’t spread CV. Both lies.
Fauci didn’t develop the vaccines. He just handed out money like any bureaucrat would. That’s his “Science”.
Fauci is certainly a disgusting animal, but one who worked with others animals of a worse type. Not every Democrat believed that feeble “wet market” cause when an error-prone virology lab (Wuhan) was just a few blocks away. But those other animals had a different agenda: to get Americans to follow lunatic and draconian restrictions without question.
They certainly didn’t mind Fauci turning into an egotistical monster; they loved it. If and when errors were discovered, Fauci would be the fall guy – and now he is precisely that. They wanted power, and next to the gun, obedience is the prime pathway. They didn’t mind that countless people died and even more lost their livelihoods for non compliance with mandates. Even when errors popped up, they didn’t demand more rigor from their scientists, allowing the continuation of arbitrary rules and specious reasoning to rain down rules on everyone. Give Biden and company a cheer for enabling all this.
That person IS A CRIMINAL. He has BLOOD ON HIS HANDS. I want to see him PROSECUTED!!! 🤬
🙏🏼❤️🤍💙🙏🏼
ON a lighter note—my CIVIL RIGHTS were UPHELD today in the #SantaBarbara County Superior Court by Judge Sydney Bennet, who performed a lot of work and quoted a bunch of caselaw to overturn an unlawful arrest of me—made because we have a DIRTY Police Captain in Lompoc, CA! Yeppers… we have a dirty Police Captain who never should have taken an oath because I found out he is a RAPIST and a MURDERER! No joke. This is real. And I will go to another hearing in a couple weeks to find out how the old brass in the Court respects my Rights. Judge Rigali… has a verrrry checkered past, but I know, they do not make errors when they understand they are being exposed.
God bless our Country!
Here is my latest episode: https://youtu.be/EPvVf71qusk?is=o6CuxHI9EU4xwXI9
Thank you for your life’s work. You, and Susan Bassi in #California, are my mentors.
🙏🏼❤️🤍💙🙏🏼
Criminal? He’s been convicted right?
soon baby!
My comment is not about Doctor Fauci, who’s words speak for themselves. It’s about asking any decent, law abiding democrats how they remain one? Everything the left does is tainted with lies, misrepresentations, shameful conduct, arrogance and hatred of our country.
PARODY: Anthony Fauci Named Head of Medical Ethics at Harvard, Cites Decades of Hands-On Experience Navigating the Truth
Harvard Medical School announced today it has appointed Dr. Anthony Fauci to lead its newly reimagined Department of Medical Ethics, praising his unmatched ability to hold two contradictory positions simultaneously without breaking eye contact.
Dr. Fauci brings a rare skill set, said the search committee chair. He’s the only candidate who can teach both ‘informed consent’ and ‘plausible deniability’ in the same syllabus.
The new curriculum reportedly includes a semester-long seminar titled Diary Keeping for Public Officials: What to Write Down and What to Deny Later, along with a capstone course on The Fifth Amendment as a Teaching Tool.
Fauci is expected to invoke academic privilege the first time a student asks a follow-up question.
Stupid comment.
That is either a prediction of what you’ll say next, or a headline for your body of work on this blog, or the title of your autobiography.
@OLLY
😂😂😂
OLLY,
Another good one!
Annony’s autobiography would be a scant dozen pages, accomplishments being he got out of bed, leveled up on various online gaming, made a Hot Pocket without burning himself, and his rebellious fight against fascists when he got arrested for having a mental meltdown when he saw police in a college building and they did not call him his correct pronouns as she, while wearing a blue wig.
😉
Yours is.
We have to laugh, so we can keep from crying. Thank you, Olly.
Thanks Stephen, but here’s the part that’s not funny. Watch who’s cheering Fauci for dodging. That’s not really about him. That’s every one of them showing you exactly how they’ll act the day it’s their turn in that chair. Self-government only works if accountability’s real no matter who’s sitting in it.
Every time somebody defends the dodge because it’s their team, that trust takes another hit. That’s the actual damage here. Not one man’s ethics. It’s a preview of how the people running things plan to handle getting caught.
Outstanding.
“PARODY”
Jonathan Swift would be proud.
OLLY,
Good one!
Constitutional due process begins from the premise “Innocent until PROVEN guilty”. Each member of Congress and every president swears an oath of office to follow constitutional due process – the “means” to reach an end result.
Trump and his allies in Congress started with the opposite premise, publicly stating to put Fauci in prison (end result) but by skipping the constitutional due process. This is a foreign model of governing, not found in the U.S. Constitution or Declaration of Independence.
If you support 2nd Amendment constitutional due process to protect gun owners, you also support the entire constitutional system which grants “Innocence until PROVEN guilty” (4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th Amendments).
It is a federal crime (that can result in prison time) to use one’s government authority to illegally punish political opponents. If the U.S. Department of Justice were operating properly, Todd Blanche would appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and indict our 34 time felon president for violating the Hatch Act, Privacy Act and other crimes.
Todd Blanche should be disbarred from practicing law if he refuses to appoint a special prosecutor over vindictive prosecutions and extrajudicial punishments – no authority any American official has ever had.
Since Fauci was denied constitutional due process by disloyal members of Congress and a disloyal president, his attorney advised him to invoke his 5th Amendment rights. By contrast, 34 time felon Donald Trump was granted full constitutional due process since his first felony conviction by citizen juries.
If Blanche is loyal to his oath of office and his legal bar association, it’s likely Trump will invoke the 5th Amendment in a future criminal indictment.
You’re all over the map anon. Calm down, take a breath, try again.
How does a Congressional inquiry violate due process.
TDS flare up, level 9 alert, crazy anon runs amok, spews nonsense. Film at 11.
What stands out to me is that this betrayal of public trust and the resulting damage was made possible by the near monolithic alliance of media and the left. We are where we are today with our foundational principles and institutions under open assault because most of the print and broadcast media failed in their mandate to hold all accountable. Power without accountability naturally becomes corrupt, overbearing and a threat to the public welfare. The First Amendment was intended to protect the public from government not the other way around.
“. . . Fauci to remain silent on the questions raised by his diary.”
You don’t need his cringe-worthy diary to see the obvious: He’s a megalomaniac addicted to fame.
He’s the revolting type that always oozes to the surface when there’s a union of government and science.
How many times has that oozing taken place in US history?
The villains of this era are journalists. The people and organizations who became advocates and activists without turning in their press badges or hats.
From the Russian collusion hoax, to the impeachment theater, Hunter’s laptop, COVID and Fauci, Biden’s mental state, Law-fare, to name just a few instances – and they all point in one political direction – to disempower Trump and his agenda whatever it is.
Covid is the most non-partisan topic of the bunch, but became partisan just by existing in this era.
This shameful era of journalistic advocacy continues with the intentionally sparse reporting on Fauci and this week’s hearing.
It is quite clear that Mr. Fauci and his lavish Law Firm have little confidence in the Autopen Pardon issued by the Pardon Czar. If Mr. Fauci’s involvement in the development, release, treatment modalities, “Vaccine” development and anti-Constitutional edicts were ever fully investigated and published, he would be the Face of Human experiments gone wrong!!!! In my humble opinion based on the current evidence, this man along with his political and media comrades attempted a Global One World takedown of Democracy. He almost succeeded…………
As its been said previously in the press, to get Fauci, his previous public testimony will be used against him.
AS for that take-down, it was a test run for a Chinese biological attack on … Fauci had to know that.
Pardons are not prospective.
“It is quite clear that Mr. Fauci and his lavish Law Firm have *little confidence* in the Autopen Pardon issued by the Pardon Czar.” (emphasis added)
Rightly so.
They got the dates wrong.
and you know, fauci’s ego just had to be in charge of all of it, he was right out in the front with the lies.
He’s the one who should take the most heat but he had a LOT of help and they should too.
read the diary people. He’s inhuman.
Did you order the Code Red? DID YOU ORDER THE CODE RED!?!?!?!
A public hanging in front of the White House.
Tapper too.