"Paul has an "unhinged obsession with me," and his motive for the hearing is to "get me to say something " anything " that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote," Fauci said.
"Although it pains me to do so ... under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions," Fauci said.
"Paul also ordered Fauci's lawyer removed from the committee room for trying to speak.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the hearing is part of a "campaign against science" that "has made this country less safe."
"If there are valid scientific questions about the origins of this pandemic ... they should certainly be addressed, but not in a show trial, not as part of a continuing vendetta against a single individual," Blumenthal said."
Excerpts, more on the far right Conspiracy Theory witch hunt at the link:
www.axios.com
Regarding the shutdowns:
Trump initially supported the "15 Days to Slow the Spread" guidelines. Before those 15 days had ended, he was already warning about the economic damage and saying he hoped businesses could begin reopening by Easter.
He later abandoned the Easter target and extended the federal distancing guidelines through April 30.
But the federal government never imposed a single nationwide business shutdown. The actual orders closing businesses, schools and public spaces and the decisions about how long to keep them closed were generally made by governors under their own state authority.
The Trump administration issued guidance, but governors were not under federal orders requiring them to continue the shutdowns and mandates.
It was largely the governors who determined how severely and how long their individual states remained shut down.
This would be another major element of Doc's "panic and hysteria,".
The prolonged state shutdowns cannot fairly be laid primarily at Trump's feet.