A Senate hearing descended into a heated confrontation on Wednesday (July 29) after Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul ordered Capitol Police to escort Dr. Anthony Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, out of the hearing room.
The dramatic moment came during proceedings in which Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Paul says attorney disrupted proceedings
The confrontation began when Schertler attempted to speak during the hearing despite not being recognized by the committee chair.
Paul accused the attorney of disregarding instructions, saying Schertler had been told not to sit at the witness table alongside Fauci and was not authorized to address the committee.
“You will respect these proceedings. You were told not to sit at the table. You insist on sitting at the table and we told you you would not be recognized. You are not invited here for testimony, sir. You are being disruptive,” Paul said.
He added that Schertler had been instructed to sit in a row behind the witness table and accused him of disrupting the hearing.
“There’s a row behind you, sir. That’s where you were told to sit … and now you’re disrupting the proceedings,” Paul said before directing security to intervene.
“You are not recognized, sir. Security, please remove him from the room.”
Paul defends decision to remove lawyer
Following the hearing, Paul defended his decision, arguing that Schertler had no standing to address the committee after Fauci chose to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
“In no courtroom in America can you have your witness plead the Fifth Amendment, then your attorney gets to testify,” Paul said.
“The attorney’s complaining and testifying, saying, ‘He didn’t do it. The prosecution’s unfair.’ You don’t get to do that. That’s one thing you give up when you take the Fifth Amendment.”
Paul added that while Schertler was free to make public statements outside the hearing, he was not permitted to speak during the committee proceedings without authorization.
Fauci’s attorney calls removal ‘outrageous’
Minutes after being escorted out, Schertler criticized the decision, calling his removal “outrageous” and accusing Paul of conducting a politically motivated hearing.
“This is outrageous and demonstrates the completely biased and baseless nature of this proceeding,” The New York Post quoted Schertler as saying.
In a separate statement, he described Paul’s allegations against Fauci as “false and disgraceful” and said the legal team would explore possible action against the senator.
“We will examine all options to hold Senator Paul accountable,” Schertler said.
Hearing underscores long-running Fauci-Paul clashes
The confrontation marks the latest chapter in the long-running disputes between Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci, whose exchanges over the US government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic have repeatedly drawn national attention.
