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Dr. Anthony Fauci is a name most Americans probably didn’t think they would have to hear about again, but Senate Republicans have different plans in mind. This week, the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of court for not answering questions during a hearing meant to force his sworn testimony on the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 85-year-old scientist invoked his right to plead the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times and Republicans eviscerated him for this, arguing that because former President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Fauci, he no longer could claim Fifth Amendment protection. This is simply false, and in fact, Republicans themselves are continuing to give Fauci legal cover to stay silent as they pursue a farcical investigation against yet another perceived political enemy.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, has long despised Fauci, going so far as to suggest the scientist should be thrown in prison. Paul alleges Fauci lied to Congress about the origins of the deadly virus and that he unnecessarily pressured states to close schools down during the pandemic, mask up, and mandate vaccination. Fauci has denied all of this, but with an emboldened GOP consuming Washington, Paul has found his time to strike. Days before Fauci was scheduled to testify, Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s personal diary, in which the scientist chronicled behind-the-scenes meetings and discussions with Trump White House officials, fellow scientists, and doctors alongside his own assumptions and theories about how COVID-19 came to be. And this week, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who also sits on the Homeland Security Committee, announced he had gained possession of Fauci’s........

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