3 state attorneys general subpoena Anthony Fauci
thehill.com

That's likely another reason why he took the 5th ...

Hellbent on putting Fauci in jail, Rand Paul wants to skip a Senate vote
www.politico.com

... Rand Paul wants to fast-track prosecution of former Covid czar Anthony Fauci.

The legal process will be fraught.

After the Kentucky Republican pushed a contempt of Congress resolution through his Senate committee on party lines Thursday morning " saying Fauci had impeded his investigation of the pandemic by refusing to answer questions last week " Democrats demanded he take it to the full Senate for a vote they could filibuster. Paul said he's going to instead take it straight to the attorney general.

For Fauci, the difference is massive. A failed Senate vote to hold him in contempt would show he's still got defenders after Republicans released a diary showing his enthusiasm for fame and then grilled him while he took the Fifth. A referral to the attorney general puts a decision on prosecution in the hands of a Trump Justice Department that has shown it's willing to play politics.

"Maybe he should" be prosecuted, President Donald Trump told reporters about Fauci on Thursday, referencing the contempt prosecutions of two of his allies, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro, that began when Democrats controlled Congress. "What he did is far more serious than a lot of crimes."

After his committee voted, Paul said he's sick of waiting to hold his pandemic nemesis accountable. "This way we don't sit a month waiting to determine whether or not to bring it to the Senate floor," he told reporters. "It will immediately be referred over, and I think it's important for them to look at." ...