Bernie Moreno Hits Fauci With F-Bomb as He Pleads the Fifth (VIDEO)
Sen. Bernie Moreno did not hold back during a heated Senate hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Fauci, the former NIAID director and one of the most visible faces of the federal COVID response, appeared Wednesday under subpoena before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
For years, Fauci was everywhere. Cable news. Network interviews. Public briefings. He became a household name during the pandemic as Washington pushed lockdowns, masks, and vaccine mandates across the country.
But when it came time to answer questions under oath, Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment.
According to Sen. Joni Ernst, who spoke to Fox News, Fauci pleaded the Fifth Amendment 111 times during the hearing.
That did not sit well with Moreno, the Ohio Republican, who unloaded on Fauci over the damage Americans suffered during the pandemic years.
“Here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, who the f*ck do you think you were for doing that?” Moreno asked Fauci.
Moreno continued by blasting Fauci’s role in the COVID era and calling out Democrats who continued to defend him.
“It is a total disgrace what you did to this country, and if my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you, I hope the voters — the United States of America, watch the clips of every one of you doting on a guy who is more interested in being a celebrity than saving American people,” The Ohio Senator said.
At one point, Moreno had a staffer give Fauci a copy of the U.S. Constitution. He then asked Fauci if he knew what the Fifth Amendment said.
Fauci again stuck to the same response and declined to answer, citing the advice of his attorneys.
Moreno also pressed Fauci to turn around and look at the Americans who were harmed by pandemic policies, including people who lost jobs over vaccine mandates and children who were forced to wear masks.
Fauci did not do so, according to Moreno, who responded, “What a disgrace,” Moreno said.
After the hearing, Moreno posted a blunt message about Fauci’s repeated refusal to answer.
“Fauci’s message to the countless Americans he locked in their homes, who were fired from their jobs over vax mandates, the children he forced to wear masks? “I plead the 5th.” Criminal,” Bernie Moreno said.
Sen. Rand Paul also announced Wednesday that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt for refusing to answer questions during the hearing.