參議員 Josh Hawley（共和黨，密蘇里州）指控 Anthony Fauci 博士在 COVID-19 疫情期間，動用由納稅人資金支付的員工，為自己爭取超過 100 萬美元的個人現金獎項；Fauci 對這些指控未作回應，並一再援引第五修正案。

這場交鋒發生在周三一場氣氛緊張的聽證會上。前白宮 COVID 顧問在參議員 Rand Paul（共和黨，肯塔基州）的傳票下，出席由共和黨主導的委員會。聽證會也置於國會對疫情時期決策與公共資源使用進行更廣泛審查的背景下，Hawley 追問 Fauci 是否曾指示聯邦員工協助申請獎項，而當時政府仍在處理這場健康危機。

Hawley 表示，Fauci 曾指示聯邦員工協助他取得高額獎項，而當時數以百萬計的美國人正面臨疫情衝擊。

"You were using federal employees with taxpayer money to apply for and solicit cash prizes for you personally, cash prizes totaling over $1 million," Hawley said. "You did all of that during the pandemic, didn't you?"

Fauci 沒有回答，而是反覆回應："On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."

Hawley 隨後引用他所稱來自 Fauci 團隊的內部電郵，其中包括一封由前幕僚長 Greg Folkers 發出的郵件，內容涉及提名 Dan David Prize。根據 Hawley 的說法，該電郵要求聯邦員工提供文字，強化 Fauci 提名中關於 COVID-19 的部分，描述他的疫情應對。

"We're working on this nomination for the Dan David Award for Fauci," Hawley read from the email. "We need to beef up the COVID part."

Hawley 表示，Dan David Award 的現金獎金為 $900,000，並指稱 Fauci 動用聯邦員工協助取得該獎項。他還指控 Fauci 使用政府人員與資源，至少再追求八項現金獎項，包括來自 Partnership for Public Service、Adelson Prize、Smithsonian Institution、National Academy of Medicine 和 CDC Foundation 的榮譽。

"In fact, you turned your staff into a full-time application machine," Hawley said. "You actually wrote to people and said, 'Do you think maybe I'd qualify?'"

Hawley 進一步指稱，Fauci 在政府時間內動用八名不同的聯邦員工協助獎項申請，並詢問這些說法是否屬實。

Fauci 再次拒絕回答，援引他防止自證其罪的第五修正案權利；在整場聽證會中，他這樣做超過 100 次。

儘管這位退休傳染病專家已獲前總統 Joe Biden 特赦，但批評者認為，如果他在宣誓作證時作偽證，仍可能面臨起訴。

在開場陳述中，Fauci 指控 Paul 對「要求起訴我」有著「明顯的執著」。

"The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote," he said.

Hawley 告訴 FOX Business，因為獲得特赦，Fauci「在第五修正案下沒有任何權利」。

"He got rich while people were dying," Hawley said. "He used federal employees with taxpayer money to apply for and solicit cash prizes. He needs to answer for it."

Fauci 表示，他是在法律顧問建議下援引第五修正案，並承認這樣做對他而言並不容易。