President Donald Trump said Monday he has not spoken with Attorney General Todd Blanche or U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro about prosecuting Dr. Anthony Fauci after the former federal health official repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a recent Senate hearing. “I have not spoken to him about that, no,” Trump told reporters when asked whether he had discussed the matter with either Blanche or Pirro, NBC News reports.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-5 along party lines last week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions under subpoena about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times during the July 29 hearing. Committee Chair Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Thursday that the panel sent its contempt referral to the Justice Department and Pirro’s office for possible prosecution. The Justice Department has confirmed receiving the referral and said it is reviewing it.
