Former US health official Anthony Fauci invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination during a heated US Senate hearing on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, concerning the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. Fauci refused to answer questions about American funding for coronavirus research in China and allegations that he misled Congress about the virus's origins, citing advice from his attorneys and respect for the legislative branch.

Fauci, 85, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and was a prominent figure in the US government's Covid-19 response, stated, "Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government ... under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the constitution to refrain from answering your questions."

The hearing, held before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, reopened contentious debates over whether the pandemic began through natural animal-to-human transmission or a laboratory-related incident in Wuhan, China. Republican Senator Rand Paul, chair of the committee, repeatedly accused Fauci of covering up evidence supporting the lab-leak theory linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and questioned why US funds were used for research there.

Days before the hearing, Senator Paul released Fauci's pandemic-era diary entries, which included Fauci's reflections on fame and Covid's origins. Fauci expressed concern that Republicans aimed to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury, saying, "The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something - anything - that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, 'behind bars.'"

Fauci has previously denied any wrongdoing, calling allegations against him "simply preposterous." The World Health Organization in 2025 stated that the natural-origins theory, involving virus spillover from animals to humans, was the "best supported" idea based on available evidence but deemed origin determination "inconclusive" pending further information.

Sources