Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, has urged for Anthony Fauci to face contempt charges and be prosecuted for perjury. This follows Fauci’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights over 100 times during a Senate hearing.
Cruz expressed frustration, stating, “Years from now, they’ll look back and say, ‘What collective madness overtook this country?'” He accused Fauci of having longstanding contempt for both Congress and the American public. He cited Fauci’s diary as evidence of repeated deceit during his tenure as a COVID-19 adviser.
“His diary shows that he deliberately lied to the American people over and over and over again,” Cruz said.
In the aftermath of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, where Fauci was questioned about his role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, committee chairman Rand Paul announced plans to pursue contempt charges against him. Fauci had avoided incriminating himself by not responding to questions throughout the session.
Cruz remarked on the situation, saying, “Dr. Fauci ought to think about what it says about the end of his career, that what he will be remembered for the most is pleading the fifth more than 100 times.” He labeled Fauci as “the most damaging bureaucrat in the history of America.”
Cruz, along with other Republican senators like Rand Paul, has been critical of Fauci’s handling of the pandemic. He alleges that Fauci was dishonest about the origins of COVID-19 and his role in policy decisions.
Fauci’s private diaries reveal that he considered the possibility of the virus originating from a laboratory, a stance he later downplayed publicly. Cruz highlighted this, stating that Fauci initially wrote about scientific discussions considering a lab origin, but made contradictory public statements.
The Texas senator also accused Fauci of being behind school lockdowns. According to Cruz, Fauci influenced New York and California’s decisions to close schools. This contradicted his public denial of involvement in school shutdowns.
“In his diary, he brags about convincing Democrats in New York and California to shut schools down and yet he goes on TV and says, ‘Oh, I wasn’t for shutdowns,'” Cruz said.
Cruz argued that the school closures led to significant learning loss, which he considers “the single most destructive public policy step we’ve seen in decades.” He believes this will impact affected students for the rest of their lives.
He concluded by asserting, “The fact that he knew he was lying to the American people — he should be held in contempt, he should be prosecuted for perjury and he should go to jail.”
Hannah, a Production Assistant for the Politics team at Fox News Digital, contributed to this report.