Senator Bernie Moreno drops F-bomb at Fauci in COVID hearing, sparking online furor
Against the backdrop of a Senate investigation into COVID-19 origins that has been building for six years, Wednesday's congressional hearing produced a moment that quickly traveled far beyond Capitol Hill. Senator Bernie Moreno,…
Key takeaways
- At Wednesday's Senate hearing, Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno delivered a profanity-laced rebuke of Dr. Anthony Fauci, demanding an apology over pandemic guidance he says harmed Americans.
- Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during the hearing and declined to answer Moreno's questions.
- Fauci appeared under a subpoena issued by Senator Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, who has since indicated he will pursue contempt charges.
- Moreno's questioning focused on the real-world costs of federal pandemic guidance such as mask mandates, social distancing, and school closures, citing an Ohio mother arrested for not wearing a mask at an outdoor football game.
- Conservative commentators and White House officials praised Moreno's performance, while Fauci's attorney said Fauci believes Moreno is 'completely wrong.'
Against the backdrop of a Senate investigation into COVID-19 origins that has been building for six years, Wednesday's congressional hearing produced a moment that quickly traveled far beyond Capitol Hill. Senator Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, unleashed a profanity-laced rebuke at Dr. Anthony Fauci, demanding an apology and asking who Fauci thought he was to have issued the pandemic guidance Moreno argues damaged American lives. Fauci, who served as President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor and was a central government spokesman throughout the pandemic, declined to answer, invoking the Fifth Amendment.
The confrontation and what drove it
Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky and chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had issued a subpoena compelling Fauci's appearance. Paul and his Republican colleagues have long argued that Fauci misled Congress on COVID-19's origins, on federal funding for research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and on the nature of gain-of-function research, which involves altering pathogens to study how they might become more transmissible or dangerous.
Moreno focused his questioning on what he described as the real-world costs of federal pandemic guidance, including mask mandates, social distancing rules, and school closures. He cited an Ohio mother arrested for not wearing a mask at an outdoor high school football game. That episode, he said, was what drove him to sell his businesses and run for the United States Senate roughly six years ago.
At the start of his allotted time, Moreno asked audience members who had questioned COVID guidelines and faced consequences to stand. Several did. He then asked Fauci to turn and face them. Fauci refused.
Fifth Amendment and the legal perimeter
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times over the course of the hearing. His attorney, David Schertler, told Fox News Digital that Fauci believes Moreno is "completely wrong." Paul has since indicated he will pursue contempt charges. Moreno also accused Fauci of prioritizing celebrity access over public duties, pointing to a Zoom call Fauci joined with Kim Kardashian and more than a dozen other celebrities during the pandemic.
Political reaction
Conservative commentators moved quickly. Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on X that Fauci should go to jail. White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung praised Moreno's questioning as a "high-heat fastball." Jace Yarbrough, a Republican congressional candidate in Texas' 32nd District and an Air Force veteran, wrote on X that he was among the service members who refused the COVID vaccine and faced career consequences for doing so, thanking Moreno for "taking this man to task." Philip Letsou, Moreno's chief of staff, wrote that he had never seen a moment quite like it in Congress.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee's investigation into pandemic-era decision-making remains open.
Source · 來源