August 1, 2026

Michael's Daily Notes

Everyone is still arguing about Dr. Fauci's silence. Few are proposing the one thing that would end it.

Since Wednesday's hearing, when Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times by Fox News' count, the debate has been entirely about coercion. Senator Rand Paul is pursuing contempt and drafting a brief arguing that President Biden's preemptive pardon stripped Fauci of any right to remain silent. But that pardon covers conduct only through January of 2025 — not a word Fauci speaks under oath today. Hence the silence.

There's a simpler path, and so far it's been hiding in the fine print of the legal explainers: the Senate can grant ‘use immunity’ and compel testimony. Jonathan Turley acknowledged the option. So did national security attorney Bradley Moss, who then added a cynical kicker: "I doubt they will do so, because these hearings aren't about getting facts."

Prove him wrong. Grant Dr. Fauci immunity and invite him back. Immunity takes the handcuffs off the table and removes his stated reason for silence. And it's no license to lie — false testimony under a grant of immunity is a fresh crime. If Senator Paul truly wants answers about COVID's origins and gain-of-function research, not a perp walk, that's the trade. And if Fauci truly has nothing to hide, he takes it.

A million Americans died and we still don't know where the virus came from. On Wednesday, Fauci was excoriated and extolled. What he wasn't, was heard. Immunity is how we finally hear him. 

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Should the Senate grant Dr. Fauci immunity in exchange for his testimony?

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