Senate panel votes to hold former official Fauci in contempt of Congress

A United States Senate panel has voted to hold former health official Anthony Fauci, a key figure in the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in contempt of Congress.The move on Thursday comes after Fauci last week pleaded the fifth, referring to a constitutional right to remain silent, during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.Fauci, who has become a top target among critics of the US’s response to COVID, had charged the Republican-led hearing was designed to entrap him. He had previously been pre-emptively pardoned by former US President Joe Biden.The vote on Thursday refers Fauci to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution, although the law enforcement agency will ultimately decide whether to move ahead with tho