Fox Legal Contributor Pours Cold Water on GOP’s Legal Threats Against Fauci: ‘He’s Gonna Win in Court’

A Fox News legal contributor warned that Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) effort to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress would probably not hold up in court, but a state criminal probe may pose some legal danger.

As the Fox & Friends crew covered Wednesday’s contentious Senate hearing with Fauci, who refused to answer any questions and pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, co-host Griff Jenkins interviewed ex-Whitewater deputy counsel Sol Wisenberg.

“What do you make of where this goes now?” Jenkins asked him.

“It’s really not going to be a close question,” Wisenberg replied. “The Senate, if they try to have the Department of Justice hold him in contempt, is going to lose in court.”

He added: “So, legally, ultimately, the Senate will be able to harass him, but it’s a valid invocation of the Fifth Amendment. You may not like it. But it’s a valid invocation.”

But Wisenberg said that it doesn’t mean Fauci is out of the woods, as Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has opened a criminal investigation into the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief.

“The federal immunity does not extend to the state,” he said. “We know that President Trump learned that with what happened to him in New York State court. So he’s in danger. Fauci is in danger.”

Returning to his Fauci’s use of the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday, Wisenberg delivered a final blunt analysis.

“We may not like Fauci,” he said. “We may not like the fact that he is invoking the Fifth Amendment, but he’s gonna win in court.”

Watch above via Fox News.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!