Rand Paul to refer Fauci's assistant to DOJ over destruction of records
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) will be asking the Justice Department to open an investigation into Dr. Anthony Fauci’s executive assistant for the alleged destruction of records related to the origins of COVID-19.
TL;DR
- Senator Rand Paul will ask the Justice Department to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci's executive assistant for alleged destruction of COVID-19 records.
- Republicans sought to grant immunity to assistant Patricia Conrad to testify about Fauci's alleged history of destroying records.
- Democrats blocked the effort to grant immunity, with Senator Maggie Hassan citing the hasty nature of the vote and the need for a bipartisan approach.
- Conrad invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during a deposition.
- Paul believes the lack of Democratic support for immunity encourages the DOJ to compel Conrad's testimony via indictment.
- Emails suggest NIAID officials attempted to obstruct records requests and downplayed the lab leak theory for COVID-19.