Former DoD Counsel Says Fauci Screwed Himself by Taking the Fifth 111 Times

Anthony Fauci may have done himself no favors by repeatedly pleading the Fifth during his recent Senate appearance.

On Wednesday, the former NIH director invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times while getting slapped with questions about his role in the pandemic response. Now, a prominent legal expert is saying that strategy likely backfired.

Ryan Goodman, a New York University law professor and former Defense Department counsel under Barack Obama, told CNN that Fauci’s approach created more issues than it resolved.

According to Goodman, the decision could actually increase Fauci’s legal exposure rather than protect him.

"I think it makes it worse,” he told anchor Erin Burnett. “It's even a curious way in which you wonder what his legal advice was, why they decided to do that. Because he does not face criminal jeopardy for the pardon.”

“In all likelihood, he's pardoned for all actions before January 2025. But that also means that you're forced to testify," said Goodman, noting that by pleading the Fifth, Fauci “could then be held in contempt."

To that point, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has scheduled a contempt vote before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee next week.

"There could be theoretically, at least, a Justice Department that goes after him for not answering when he is not really facing that criminal charge," added Goodman.

Burnett added that to the layperson, pleading the Fifth may not go over well in the court of public opinion. Which, of course, matters far less, but any damage to Fauci's credibility would do the country good.

CNN's Erin Burnett asks an NYU law professor if Fauci is in real trouble after pleading the Fifth 111 times.

His answer: It made things WORSE.

BURNETT: "112 times to invoke the Fifth Amendment. I mean, you can't even string all that together… Will that strategy work? Because… pic.twitter.com/MylhVka3sb
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 30, 2026

RFK Catches Something in the Fauci Diaries That Should Make Your Blood Boil: ‘He Never Told Anybody’

The underlying hearing that prompted Goodman’s criticism was contentious from the start. Lawmakers during Wednesday's questioning pressed Fauci on the origins of COVID-19, federal funding for research in China, and his private communications during the pandemic.

The former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director's legal team has insisted that he invoked the Fifth to avoid any perjury traps in what they described as a highly partisan proceeding.

Goodman's argument closely tracks with what RedState reporter Kyle Becker wrote on the day of the hearing. Becker noted that the broad Biden pardon significantly weakens Fauci’s ability to claim a valid Fifth Amendment privilege for past conduct, and that continuing to refuse to answer after being directed to testify could expose him to contempt charges.

It’s also possible Fauci and his lawyers were calculating the risk of state-level prosecution, particularly with Florida now launching its own investigation. Could he be deliberately accepting the chance of a congressional contempt charge in order to avoid providing testimony that could later be used against him in state court?

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