A Senate subcommittee says it has obtained a copy of the cellphone Anthony Fauci used during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the panel is preparing to vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress. The two developments mark a new stage in the Republican-led investigation into the government's handling of the pandemic and into the man who, for years, served as the public face of the federal response.

Fauci led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly four decades and became the chief medical adviser to the president during the pandemic. He has since retired from government service. The subcommittee examining the pandemic response has sought his testimony and records as part of a widening inquiry.

The panel said it had received a forensic copy of Fauci's Covid-era phone, a claim that rests on the committee's own account and that Fauci's representatives had not publicly addressed as of the vote's scheduling. Investigators use such copies to review messages, call logs and other data stored on a device. The disclosure came in the days before the scheduled contempt vote, which the committee set for Thursday.

The contempt question turns in part on Fauci's decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. That choice sets up a legal debate over whether a witness who declines to answer on constitutional grounds can be held in contempt, and over what the committee may lawfully compel. A contempt citation from the subcommittee would be one step in a longer process; enforcement typically requires additional votes and, potentially, action by the Justice Department or the courts.

The pressure on Fauci is not confined to Congress. Florida's attorney general, joined by two other states led by Republicans, has issued a subpoena seeking his testimony or records.

Supporters of the inquiry say the subpoenas, the phone data and the contempt proceeding are necessary to establish an accurate record of decisions made during the pandemic, including guidance on masking, school closures and the origins of the virus. Members of the subcommittee's Republican majority have framed the effort as a matter of oversight and public accountability. Critics take a different view. Writing in the Guardian, one commentator argued that casting Fauci as an adversary could damage public health in the United States for years by eroding trust in scientific institutions and discouraging experts from public service. Some Democratic members of the panel have characterized the proceedings as politically motivated.

Fauci has previously defended his conduct in office and has said he acted on the best scientific evidence available at the time. His decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment does not, on its own, indicate wrongdoing; the right may be asserted by any witness.

The committee's vote is expected Thursday. Whatever the outcome, the proceeding is likely to sharpen the long-running dispute over accountability for the pandemic response, a debate that has divided along familiar political lines since the early days of the outbreak.

References

1. 1.Senate subcommittee statement — the acquisition of a forensic copy of Fauci's phone and the scheduling of the contempt vote
2. 2.Subcommittee Republican majority members — the oversight and accountability rationale for the inquiry
3. 3.Subcommittee Democratic members — characterization of the proceedings as politically motivated
4. 4.Florida Attorney General's office — the multistate subpoena seeking Fauci's testimony or records
5. 5.The Guardian (opinion commentary) — argument that targeting Fauci could harm public health and trust in institutions
6. 6.Fauci's prior public statements — his defense of his conduct in office
7. 7.U.S. constitutional and congressional procedure — the Fifth Amendment and the contempt-enforcement process