Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment at Senate hearing on Covid response

Former US Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment during a Republican-led Senate hearing on Wednesday, declining to answer questions about his role in the federal COVID-19 response after being subpoenaed to appear.Fauci, who led the nation’s pandemic response, said he was acting on legal advice and described the decision as difficult. His refusal to testify immediately escalated tensions in an already highly charged political dispute over the origins and management of the coronavirus pandemic.Clash with senator Rand Paul over pandemic responseThe hearing was requested by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has repeatedly accused Fauci of misleading Congress about COVID-19’s origins and the US government’s involvement in related research.In his opening statement, Fauci accused Paul of pursuing a political campaign aimed at securing his prosecution.“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this Committee is to prompt me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci said.Paul, in turn, alleged that Fauci helped fund virus researc...