BREAKING: Senate committee votes to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, could face jail time if convicted

The Senate Homeland Security Committee has voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress, clearing a hurdle before a full vote can take place in the Senate chamber to officially hold him in contempt of Congress.

The vote takes place after Fauci appeared in Congress last week, where he pleaded the Fifth 111 times in response to questions surrounding his response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The vote came down 8 to 7 on the committee, with the vote being split along party lines.

The committee debated on several motions, with multiple Democrat senators attempting to delay the vote to hold Fauci in contempt, with each one from the Democrats failing along party lines votes.

The vote comes after GOP Senator Ron Johnson announced that investigators looking into Fauci's action during the pandemic have obtained a copy of his government-issued phone that he had during his time leading the response to Covid-19.

"The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has obtained a copy of Dr. Fauci’s phone from HHS. Hopefully, this device will address many of the questions he refused to answer at last week’s hearing," Johnson said in a post to X on Wednesday.

Senator Rand Paul, who has been one of the main lawmakers pushing to hold Fauci accountable for his actions for years, said that he wants the Department of Justice to get involved quickly if he is found to be in contempt of Congress with a full vote.

"The next step will be when we send the referral over directly to the Department of Justice," Paul told Fox News ahead of the committee vote. If Fauci is held in contempt of Congress and convicted, he could face up to a $100,000 fine and up to one year of jail time. 

During the hearing last week, the only testimony offered by Fauci concerning his actions were: "Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government, and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions."

He then proceeded to plead the Fifth 111 times as senators asked him questions, even in response to questions such as "what color is your tie" and "what day of the week is it."