Republican effort to go after Trump foe thwarted by bungled paperwork

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks with members of the media ahead of a Senate vote to begin work on a bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in Washington, U.S., February 9, 2024.

President Donald Trump and his allies have spent the past two years on a crusade to attack their perceived foes, using the power of the Justice Department and of Congress itself.

Such was the case with former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was called before the Senate to answer questions from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and other lawmakers.

Paul, along with colleagues Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) have all indicated at one time or another that they believe Fauci should be investigated or criminally charged for his role in the COVID-19 crisis, though there have never been specific laws they cited he broke.

Fauci appeared before Paul again this month. The senator demanded Fauci's answers to questions in what some believed was a perjury trap. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to every question asked.

Republicans then came up with the idea that, despite showing up and answering every question asked by taking the Fifth, Fauci should be charged with contempt of Congress.

According to the Wall Street Journal, however, there hasn't been much progress on the matter because Paul's office, along with Vice President JD Vance, appears to have bungled the paperwork.

It has been three weeks since the vote and Trump administration officials doubt anything will really come of Paul's efforts. There's some skepticism about whether the Justice Department could make a case solid enough to take away someone's Fifth Amendment rights, those familiar told the site.

First, Paul bypassed the Senate's full-floor vote by sending it to the vice president for certification of the resolution, which allows Vance to refer it to the DOJ for prosecution.

"The contempt resolution, which passed on a party-line vote, would traditionally be considered by the full Senate," the report said. In this case, however, only the committee voted. "Given his resolution would almost certainly fail to meet a 60-vote threshold [to break a filibuster and] to pass, Paul’s measure called on Vance to certify it in his capacity as Senate president," according to the report.

Since then, people familiar with the matter told the Journal that Vance's office never got a document to certify. Paul sent the report to the vice president last Tuesday, his office said.

"The Justice Department, which received a letter from Paul the day of the vote laying out the committee’s case against Fauci, has yet to receive a formal referral," a person familiar with the case told the Journal.

President Donald Trump hasn't decided whether he wants the Justice Department to act on the referral, those familiar with the discussions told the reporters. They said that it "hasn't been a high priority for the president."

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