Opinion

JONATHAN TURLEY: Fauci takes the Fifth 111 times – and the media still rush to defend him

Media elites continue to treat Dr Anthony Fauci as untouchable despite newly revealed contradictions in his COVID record

By Jonathan Turley Fox News

Published July 30, 2026 3:36pm EDT | Updated July 30, 2026 3:38pm EDT

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JONATHAN TURLEY: Fauci’s Fifth Amendment silence betrays the science he sold America

Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley joins Fox News Digital to break down all the latest news on Dr. Fauci's hearing.

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As I wrote this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci was not the only one taking the Fifth on Wednesday over his record during the pandemic. The media largely invoked the same privilege to avoid self-incrimination for its years of deifying the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 

Across the cable networks, hosts and guests were having the vapors as Republican senators pummeled Fauci over his COVID-19 policies and the glaring contradictions found in his diary entries. Some, like Dr. Scott Ratzan, echoed Fauci's previous claim that any questioning of his judgment was an attack on science.

Once again, Fauci had every right to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. That does not mean it was the right thing to do. Fauci already had a pardon that notably extended back to 2014, when his agency approved gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab in China. 

FAUCI PRIVATELY TOOK CREDIT FOR COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS DESPITE PUBLIC DENIAL, NEWLY EXPOSED DIARY ENTRIES REVEAL

Any prosecution would be difficult in light of the pardon. It would not be impossible, since he could be charged with perjury for any false statements. Yet that was the same threat that existed during countless prior hearings involving Fauci.

So, what was the difference now? The answer is found in diary entries and other evidence that contradict Fauci's public statements on subjects ranging from the lab theory to school closures. It is not that Fauci would have been tripped up by false answers, but that he did........

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