President Donald Trump said he has not asked Attorney General Todd Blanche or Washington U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci, distancing himself from a criminal contempt push that Senate Republicans have sent to the Justice Department.
Trump Keeps Distance From Fauci Prosecution Push
“I have not spoken to them about that, no,” Trump told Semafor’s Shelby Talcott on Monday. Days earlier, however, Trump suggested Fauci should face prosecution, comparing his case with former advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, who served prison terms for contempt of Congress.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted along party lines last Thursday to hold Fauci in contempt after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a July 29 hearing on COVID-19 and its origins.
Paul Sends Contempt Fight Directly to DOJ
Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who subpoenaed Fauci in June, then delivered a criminal referral to DOJ.
“This is outside of the ordinary bill-making process,” Paul said, arguing that it does not require approval from the House, president or full Senate.
DOJ confirmed it received the referral and said it is “reviewing it and will work with the Senate accordingly.” Reuters reported that legal experts question whether a committee-only referral has legal force without full Senate approval. Fauci’s attorney called the effort politically motivated.
Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, was confirmed as attorney general 50-49 and sworn in Monday. He previously told senators, “Political prosecutions should never happen.”
Newly Released Messages Renew COVID Scrutiny
The dispute widened Monday when Paul and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released initial messages from Fauci’s government phone, which Johnson’s office says contained more than 34,000 texts and 522 voicemails.
In a January 2021 exchange, Fauci wrote that a second COVID-19 vaccine dose “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,” while also saying there were “no data” favoring vaccination earlier or later in pregnancy.
Later CDC surveillance found no increased miscarriage risk associated with mRNA COVID-19 vaccination during early pregnancy.
Fauci maintains that he properly invoked his constitutional rights. DOJ now decides whether to pursue Paul’s referral.
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