WATCH: Rand Paul Shuts Down Blumenthal After Fauci Pleads the Fifth
Sen. Rand Paul had a sharp answer ready after Sen. Richard Blumenthal complained about the handling of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Senate appearance.
Fauci, the former NIAID director and the public face of the federal COVID response, appeared Wednesday morning under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Paul, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the committee, led the hearing titled “Testimony of Anthony Fauci.”
The hearing began at 8:30 a.m. ET on July 29 in Room SD-342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, according to the committee notice.
Right away, Fauci refused to testify and pleaded the Fifth Amendment. That move set the tone for the hearing. But the tension really spiked after Paul finished his questioning and Fauci’s attorney tried to speak.
Paul told the attorney he was not recognized and needed to remain silent. The attorney kept going. Paul then had him removed from the room.
That brought applause from people in the hearing room. It also brought a complaint from Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat and former state attorney general, who accused Paul of treating Fauci unfairly.
Blumenthal said the hearing should not be “part of a continuing vendetta against a single individual.” He added, “And unfortunately, I think this is what we are seeing here today.”
“America deserves better,” Blumenthal said.
Paul did not let that pass. He responded by making a basic legal point: if a witness chooses not to testify by invoking the Fifth Amendment, the witness’s lawyer does not get to step in and testify for him.
“In no courtroom in America can you have your witness plead the 5th Amendment then your attorney gets to testify,” Paul said.
He continued, “That’s what that letter is, the attorneys complaining and testifying saying ‘he didn’t do it, the prosecution’s unfair.’ You don’t get to do that.”
Paul then explained what is given up when the Fifth is invoked.
“That’s one thing you give up when you take the Fifth Amendment,” Paul said.
“You say, I’m not going to testify. I’m not going to give you any information. You don’t then get to put your lawyer forward to justify it!” he added.
Paul also said Fauci’s attorney was free to make his case outside the hearing, but not by interrupting committee proceedings after he had not been invited to testify.
“He can do it in the press, but you can’t come and testify. He was not invited to testify and he was out of order and it was appropriate to have him ejected,” Paul said.
The exchange quickly made the rounds online, with supporters of Paul pointing to it as a clean example of enforcing order and not letting a witness dodge questions while a lawyer argues the case in his place.
???? NOW: Sen. Rand Paul just mic dropped insufferable Sen. Blumenthal (D) for complaining about Fauci’s lawyer being EJECTED from the hearing
“In NO courtroom in America can you have your witness plead the 5th Amendment then your attorney gets to testify!”
“That’s what that… pic.twitter.com/KoKsr0iw6K
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 29, 2026
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2082468462819955124?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw