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WATCH: Fetterman reveals his ‘one regret’ from COVID era after Fauci testimony
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., says one of his regrets from the COVID-19 pandemic was not speaking up more forcefully about the possibility the virus originated in a lab after a heated exchange with Anthony Fauci at a Senate hearing Wednesday.
"Did I have regrets?" Fetterman said. "Well, I did."
Speaking to Fox News Digital after questioning Fauci at the Senate hearing, Fetterman said he regretted not speaking up when the lab leak theory was dismissed as a "fringe" idea.
CBP INTERCEPTED BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS TIED TO US–CHINA VIRUS NETWORK BEFORE COVID, NEW DOCUMENTS SHOW
"One [regret] for sure was, you know, this idea that it could have come from the lab," Fetterman said. "That was like, you know, crazy, right fringe kind of thing. And I was like, ‘It seemed to make sense to me.’"
During his remarks at the hearing, Fetterman told Fauci he was not there to attack him but rather to call out his own questioning and hesitancy throughout the pandemic. He revealed he was reluctant to publicly support the possibility of a lab origin after it became viewed as what he called a "right-wing kind of theory," even though he thought it deserved consideration.
"I hope the next time this happens, we can follow where the truth is, depending on if there's an R or D after the name or whatever the side is," Fetterman told Fox News Digital.
RAND PAUL BRINGS CIA WHISTLEBLOWER TO SENATE HEARING ALLEGING 'DEEP STATE' COVID-19 CONSPIRACY
"It's a virus. The only side is, really, Americans versus the virus in the future."
Fetterman shared the same sentiment during the hearing, explaining he doesn’t want to be "blindsided" by a partisan idea moving forward, arguing that everyone should be "willing to pursue the truth" despite what political party is spearheading it.
He also told Fox News Digital he knew Fauci was going to plead the Fifth, which Fauci invoked 111 times after claiming Committee Chairman Rand Paul had an "obsession" with putting him behind bars. Fetterman shared that, regardless, he wanted to hold himself accountable for his own approach during the pandemic.
RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES
"I know Dr. Fauci was gonna take the Fifth," Fetterman said. "So, just like I said, I expressed my one regret, [not] being more willing to push that idea," Fetterman said, referring to the possibility of a lab leak.
Fetterman also spoke about his acknowledgment that while many lost their lives to the pandemic, countless businesses were also devastated by the pandemic, calling it a "different kind of death."
"I've had loved ones die from COVID, but I also met and I've heard from countless people that lost their businesses," Fetterman said. "That's devastating."
Senator’s F-bomb bashing of Fauci rocks Internet: ‘High-heat fastball!’
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, tore into Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor and was a key government spokesman during the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping an F-bomb during Wednesday's congressional hearing.
Fauci was issued a subpoena by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as part of a congressional investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and the federal government's response to the pandemic. Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and his Republican colleagues have long accused Fauci of misleading Congress and the American people about the origins of the virus, federal funding for research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the Chinese city where the virus first emerged and the nature of so-called gain-of-function research, which alters pathogens to study how they may become more transmissible or dangerous.
"Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, who the f--k do you think you were for doing that?" Moreno said. "It is a total disgrace what you did to this country."
Moreno's remarks came after he argued the government's COVID-19 guidance, including mask mandates, social distancing recommendations and school closures, harmed Americans. He said "moronic" politicians' implementation of Fauci's guidance led to arrests, recounting the story of an Ohio mother who was arrested for not wearing a mask during an outdoor high school football game.
"When that story broke, I said to myself, I cannot stand idly on the side and watch this happen," Moreno said. "It was about six years ago today that I decided I'm going to give up my businesses, sell them all, run for office, run for the United States Senate."
Moreno then asked Fauci whether he would apologize to the American people, prompting Fauci to invoke the Fifth Amendment. Throughout the hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times rather than answer lawmakers' questions.
RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES
At the beginning of his allotted time, Moreno called on audience members to stand if they had questioned the government's COVID-19 guidelines and were made to feel "like less than a human being" or suffered consequences for failing to comply, such as being fired from their jobs or refusing the vaccine. Moreno's request prompted audience members sitting behind Fauci to stand. Moreno asked Fauci to turn around and face them, but he refused.
Moreno accused Fauci of being more interested in rubbing elbows with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, referring to a Zoom call Fauci participated in with her and more than a dozen other celebrities, than serving as a public health official.
Moreno's fiery exchange with Fauci quickly drew praise from conservative commentators and Trump administration officials on social media.
"Fauci should go to jail. Full stop," Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on X.
White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung praised Moreno's line of questioning.
"Senator @BernieMoreno throwing a high-heat fastball!"
Jace Yarbrough, a Republican congressional candidate in Texas' 32nd District and an Air Force veteran, thanked Moreno for confronting Fauci and described what he said was pressure placed on service members who declined the COVID-19 vaccine.
"I am one of the service members who refused the COVID shot," Yarbrough wrote on X. "Many were removed from service, lost their livelihoods, or received career-ending reprimands simply for declining the shot."
"Thank you @berniemoreno for taking this man to task and standing up for those who were targeted by his regime."
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Philip Letsou, Moreno's chief of staff, also reacted to the exchange, writing on X, "Never seen a moment quite like this in Congress."
"We have no comment on anything Senator Moreno had to say other than he is completely wrong," David Schertler, Fauci's attorney, said in an email to Fox News Digital.
Paul Finebaum eviscerates Illinois' Bret Bielema after his claim that the SEC is stuck living in the past
ESPN's Paul Finebaum has offered a rebuttal to Bret Bielema and the Illinois head coach's nonchalant yet noteworthy comments about the SEC wanting to live in the past. Finebaum brought out the receipts, too, which don't exactly put Bielema in the best light.
While speaking at Big Ten media days on Tuesday, Bielema elected to take a not-so-subtle shot at the Southeastern Conference.
"[SEC commissioner] (Greg) Sankey, I know he's gotta protect the SEC, and they kinda wanna live in 2005 forever," Bielema said while at the podium. "But, I think the forward thinking of where we are in college football is an awesome thing."
There is absolutely no valid argument to be had against the fact that the Big Ten sits on the throne of college football at the moment with programs from the conference winning three straight national championships. Sure, the SEC won the four before the Big Ten built its recent run, but in today's reality, the Big Ten reigns supreme.
That, however, isn't what Bielema said, he elected to take a jab at the SEC as a whole, which includes some of the most rabid fan bases in all of sports, for being stuck looking into the rearview mirror.
The exact comments from Bielema are rather rich given the fact that he has a history of coaching in the SEC, which Finebaum was quick to remind people of in his response to the head coach.
"He never fails to be the village idiot at Big Ten Media Days," Finebaum said during ESPN's 'Get Up' on Wednesday. "I have no earthly idea where that came from, why he said it. First of all, 2005, since that moment in time, the SEC has only won 13 national championships.
"Let’s go back to Bret Bielema in the SEC at Arkansas. He didn’t make it. His last year, he was 1-8 in the SEC. His overall record in the SEC is 11-29. He was a complete and total disaster. But he always shows up there and gives us something to laugh about, but mostly to laugh at him."
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Finebaum did make an error during his rebuttal.
Bielema wasn't 1-8 in the SEC during his final season with the Razorbacks. He was actually 1-7, for whatever that is worth. His final campaign with the Hogs at 4-8 in 2017 did come on the heels of three straight winning seasons, but Bielema never came close to meeting expectations in Fayetteville during his five-year tenure, winning just 11 conference games.
Giants outfielder suffers late-night scooter accident while already dealing with foot injury, team says
Harrison Bader's season has gone from bad to worse.
The San Francisco Giants outfielder has been limited to just 30 games due to injury, and when he's been on the field, it has not been pleasant.
Bader is hitting just .170 with a .198 on-base percentage and .358 slugging percentage, as he's dealt with plantar fasciitis for the second time in his MLB career.
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But this week, the Giants announced that Bader had a "scooter accident" on "Saturday night/early Sunday morning," which further injured his foot.
Bader is now set to get an MRI for the new injury.
Bizarrely enough, this is not the first time Bader has gotten into trouble with a scooter. While playing for the University of Florida in 2014, he was suspended for 19 games for drunkenly crashing a scooter into a parked truck.
MLB PROSPECT PROVIDES POSITIVE UPDATES AFTER FRACTURING VERTABRAE IN SCARY OUTFIELD COLLISION
Bader is in the first year of a two-year pact with the Giants, which is worth north of $20 million. The Giants are his seventh team.
The 2021 Gold Glove Award winner spent nearly six full seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded to the New York Yankees in 2022. He then had a brief stint with the Cincinnati Reds before spending time with the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies.
The Giants, meanwhile, are tied for the second-worst record in the National League and figure to trade just about anyone they can ahead of next week's deadline.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Vacation paradise evacuated as raging wildfire threatens to roar back amid high winds
Greek authorities warned Wednesday that strong winds could reignite a wildfire on the popular tourist island of Paros, after the blaze forced residents and visitors to evacuate.
Paros, an island between Mykonos and Santorini, was hit by the wildfire Tuesday, prompting precautionary evacuations in multiple communities.
Flames spread through dry vegetation near the Kampi area, Italian outlet Ansa reported.
THOUSANDS SWARM STUNNING MOUNTAIN ESCAPE AS SELFIE TOURISM BACKLASH ERUPTS ONLINE
Although the blaze has since been largely contained, authorities are warning that strong winds could reignite lingering hot spots, the Greek City Times reported.
The winds could complicate firefighting efforts, the outlet said, and residents are being urged to avoid any activities that could spark fires.
As firefighters battled the blaze, local officials asked residents with available space to help house emergency crews working to contain the fire.
"The Municipality of Paros warmly thanks everyone who is responding in person at this difficult moment, supporting the forces that are fighting the flames." the translated statement read.
MAJOR CITY LAUNCHES HARSH TOURIST CRACKDOWN AS LOCALS REVOLT OVER MASSIVE CROWDS
Fox News Digital reached out to the Municipality of Paros for comment.
Known for its whitewashed villages and beaches, as well as its high-quality Parian marble, the island attracts visitors across the world.
On a Reddit forum dedicated to travel in Greece, users shared concerns and firsthand accounts of evacuations as the wildfire spread across Paros.
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The commenters had been staying in Aliki and Parikia, two villages on the island, as well as the nearby island of Antiparos.
"We were staying near Aliki and had to evacuate," one person said. "Fire is pretty big now."
"I’m in Parikia at the moment. There are currently 4 choppers helping with the [wildfire], plus ground support," another Reddit user said. "They were filling up water right in front of the harbor and flew overhead my hotel."
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A third Reddit user said, "We’re in Antiparos now and it’s safe here. We could see the fires from our house last night. It looked really bad, but it seems like it’s almost gone now."
The Paros wildfire comes as Europe continues to battle a severe wildfire season.
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Earlier this month, another major wildfire burned near Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, due to record heat and dry conditions.
France and Spain have been hit by massive blazes in recent weeks, including the famed Fontainebleau Forest near Paris, where roughly 4,900 acres of woodland was burned.
While record-breaking heat has intensified the fire danger across Europe, experts say human activity, suspected arson and land management have also contributed to the devastating wildfire season.
Simon Constable contributed reporting.
JONATHAN TURLEY: Fauci took the Fifth, but his diary may have already answered for him
"Stick with the science and never veer from that, even when the science turns out to be an inconvenient truth for somebody."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, delivered those words to Georgetown students in 2017 as the touchstone of medical ethics.
On Wednesday, before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Fauci replaced that line by repeatedly saying, "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."
FAUCI PLEADS FIFTH WITH 'ZERO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION' AS CRITICS ERUPT AND DEMAND CONTEMPT CHARGES
The optics could not have been worse, but what you saw depended largely on how you viewed the hearing. For critics, Fauci sounded like Crazy Joe Gallo without the sunglasses.
For supporters, Fauci is still a hero who refused to fall into a trap laid for him. Democratic senators such as Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., actually praised Fauci for refusing to answer questions before Congress.
There is no question that it is Fauci's right to invoke his privilege against self-incrimination, and many advised him to do so. The privilege can be invoked for strategic reasons separate from any criminal culpability. After all, he was given a last-minute pardon by President Joe Biden, and any false statements he made before the committee could be used to bring criminal charges against him.
However, Fauci is unlike many who have invoked the privilege. Unlike many past witnesses who have invoked it, Fauci has testified for days in countless prior hearings. He also has appeared in countless interviews on these issues. He had reason to fear this hearing after his diary revealed startling contradictions between his private observations and his public statements.
The question many will ask is why Fauci could not just "stick with the science" and resolve these contradictions. The fact is that he would have had difficulty dealing with his own "inconvenient truths."
Fauci's opening statement expressed obvious anger over the release of his "unredacted diary."
The new evidence shows that Fauci connected the Wuhan lab to the emerging crisis before most people had ever heard of the lab. It also shows him repeatedly referencing the lab's gain-of-function work and discounting the "wet market" as the true origin of the virus, viewing it instead as an "amplifier."
Some of the most embarrassing areas for Fauci concerned his entries acknowledging that he pushed to close schools despite public denials that he ever recommended such closures. His entries take credit for convincing figures such as then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the staff of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and others to close schools.
FAUCI'S DIARY SHOWS HE FED QUESTIONS TO JOURNALISTS, BUILT FRIENDSHIPS WITH MEDIA FIGURES
In an Oct. 16, 2022, ABC interview, Fauci repeated that denial, saying, "They always come back and say, 'Fauci was responsible for shutting schools down.' I had nothing to do [with it]!"
The media has also taken the Fifth on these subjects, declining to publish many of these contradictions. Media outlets have the same reason as Fauci. There is no spin that would reconcile their own prior coverage and gushing reviews of Fauci. The diary entries also show disturbing references to private meetings with media figures.
Fauci's diary refers to CNN anchor Jake Tapper 41 times. In some entries, Fauci suggested that the host was concerned about crafting an interview to better serve Fauci.
"Jake wanted to make sure the interview did not cause me any problems," the diary says.
Fauci also related how he met socially with Tapper in July 2020: "Had dinner at Jake Tapper and Jen Tapper’s home in DC. Terrific couple. Friendship building." Notably, on Oct. 14, 2020, CNN published a report warning about the dangers of "small household gatherings."
The diary revealed an obsession with his publicity and access to celebrities. It is replete with Fauci’s gushing accounts of himself, such as, "It is not hyoperbole [sic] to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable peson [sic] in the world."
The fact is that diaries tend to be self-obsessed, and no one would want their unvarnished private thoughts made public. Rather, my gripe with these passages is one I have previously raised in criticism of Fauci. During this period, dissenting scientists were barred from social media, removed from positions and vilified for expressing views despite now being vindicated on subjects ranging from the lab origin of the virus to the efficacy of masks, the 6-foot rule, natural immunity and school closures.
As these courageous scientists were being abused by academic and media figures who still hold their positions, Fauci said not a word in their defense despite privately acknowledging that they could be right.
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Yet Fauci remained silent as his allies in the media savaged those who voiced the view that the virus was man-made and escaped from the lab.
In 2021, New York Times science and health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was still calling on reporters not to mention the "racist" lab theory. Federal agencies found the lab theory to be the most credible despite Fauci's public claim that a natural origin was the most likely explanation.
Fauci stayed silent while relishing his celebrity status. Indeed, his diary shows no concern for these scientists as he breathlessly recounts his bobbleheads and cover shoots.
Once again, Fauci has every right to invoke his constitutional rights, but the public has every right to demand answers to these questions related to the deaths of approximately 1.2 million to 1.25 million Americans. That may result in a grant of immunity to compel him to answer them.
If there is any solace to Fauci, he will clearly be able to maintain that he is "the most famous and talked about person in the country."
Coastal workers fleeing blue strongholds could create an opportunity for Detroit
DETROIT — As high-tax, progressive-led cities continue to bleed residents nationwide, locals and policy experts in Detroit are offering contrasting visions for the Motor City’s future, with some eyeing radical free market reforms to attract those fleeing the East and West coasts.
High state and local taxes, lingering crime concerns and an astronomical cost of living continue to drive taxpayer flight out of blue strongholds like New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles.
According to a study by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), taxpayers are consistently abandoning high-tax environments for fiscally friendly states.
While Texas and Florida remain primary destinations, Sunbelt states like North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are seeing record population gains.
BLUE-STATE TAX BURDEN FUELS AMERICANS FLEEING TO REPUBLICAN-LED SOUTHERN STATES
For many moving away from major metros, the decision comes down to basic math.
"Cost of living is probably a huge reason for it. Those cities are some of the most expensive in the country," Ferndale resident Andy Femminineo told Fox News Digital Monday.
Femminineo, who grew up in the Detroit suburbs and works downtown, noted that even high-earning tech workers are being priced out of coastal hubs.
"A lot of those people are showing up here in Detroit," he said. "The cost of living [on the coasts] is outstripping the tech talent they have there, which is ridiculous. I mean, it's humongous talent and income there, and you still can't afford to live."
Floyd Brantley, a born-and-raised Detroiter, sees the population shifts as part of a historical cycle for major urban centers.
"I think it's a nationwide trend, and what a lot of people don't realize is that cities are cyclical anyway," Brantley said. "This isn't the first upward swing that Detroit has been on. We've been up and down a few times. New York's been up and down a few times, Chicago … LA is losing a lot of people going to Texas."
DETROIT DEVELOPER CITES 'SUBSTANTIAL TAXES' AS REASON BIG BLUE CITIES LIKE NYC ARE IN TROUBLE
Former Detroit Planning Director Antoine Bryant echoed those sentiments, noting that the South and Midwest offer economic relief that coastal markets simply cannot match.
"The South in general has been growing tremendously," Bryant told Fox News Digital. "South Carolina has won, there's been tremendous growth in Texas as well and you're seeing that along the coast because the income disparity isn't as vast as it is on the East and West coasts."
Bryant, who has lived in Detroit since 2021, expects the city to expand over the coming decade. "Many demographers and planners I talk to say there's real opportunity here in the Midwest," he added.
Other locals highlighted the permanent impact of remote work on traditional urban centers.
"People aren't working in the office buildings anymore, so they don't need to be centralized in major cities," said Allen Park resident Ashli Genaw, pointing to how flexible work policies allowed workers to leave New York and California.
While local residents remain hopeful about Detroit’s organic momentum, conservative policy thinkers argue that bolder action is required to capture fleeing taxpayers.
Rodney Lockwood, a board member at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, believes major cities reliant on heavy tax bases are headed for trouble unless they embrace aggressive free-market alternatives.
"Right now, socialists are on the march, and perhaps [New York State Assemblymember] Zohran Mamdani is the best example of that. They're winning races, and their answer is always more taxes and more free stuff," Lockwood told Fox News Digital. "We have to look at both sides: what is not working, and then what will work."
DAVID MARCUS: IN BOOMING DETROIT, VOTERS SKEPTICAL OF SOCIALISM SNAKE OIL
Lockwood’s proposal? Convert Detroit’s iconic Belle Isle Park into an independent, free-enterprise "Freedom City" designed to compete directly with high-tax blue hubs.
Developed in the late 19th century, Belle Isle is a 982-acre island park on the Detroit River making it larger than New York City's Central Park. Under Lockwood’s vision, private investors would purchase the island from the city to build a mixed-use housing, entertainment and commercial district structured as a special economic zone. The plan aims to accommodate 50,000 residents across 20,000 households without relying on public tax dollars.
"Detroit is stuck. Its population is not increasing fast enough, and it faces a potential fiscal cliff as federal COVID-relief money runs out," Lockwood argued.
However, the idea of privatizing Detroit’s prized public park met sharp resistance from several locals in the downtown area.
"Horrible idea," said Tanya Clark, a native Detroiter. "We need more public spaces throughout the city, not fewer. Other places might want that, but it's not a Detroit thing."
Others were more open to the ambitious concept.
"I think that’d be amazing," said Alonte Banks, a student living in downtown Detroit. "I’m pretty sure I’d move down there."
Top 5 moments from Fauci's hearing: Paul boots lawyer, Moreno erupts as contempt vote looms
What was billed as a battle of wits between Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Dr. Anthony Fauci, with the lawmaker determined to uncover the former COVID-19 explainer-in-chief’s motivations during the pandemic, became a one-sided affair in the Senate.
Paul has for years sought to uncover Fauci’s alleged role in funding "risky" research in China that Republicans say sparked the pandemic in 2020. He has argued that Fauci should be thrown in prison, and that the former chief medical advisor to the president’s pardon from former President Joe Biden wouldn’t hold up.
But the highly anticipated back and forth, which was further stoked by Paul dumping over 1,000 pages of Fauci’s diary online before the hearing, didn’t go exactly as planned.
The hearing kicked off with an impassioned opening statement from Paul, who accused Fauci and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of funding gain-of-function research for years, misleading Congress and destroying records, which he contended created a fracture in public trust over the nation’s COVID-19 response.
"That loss of trust may be your most damaging legacy," Paul said. "Trust can't be ordered. It has to be earned. No scientist is above scrutiny. No government official beyond accountability, and no public servant preferred version of history."
RAND PAUL SEEKS CONTEMPT CHARGES AFTER FAUCI INVOKES FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES
But Fauci, under guidance from his lawyers, opted against answering any questions from Paul or others on the committee.
He argued that Paul's "obvious obsession" with pushing for his prosecution, levying allegations against him, and dumping his unredacted diary was designed 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."
"Although it pains me to do so because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government, and my decades-long record of cooperating with Congress under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions," Fauci said.
It wasn’t long after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment that tensions flared in the hearing.
After being repeatedly asked questions, and repeatedly turning to his constitutional shield, Paul declared that as chair of the committee, he was denying Fauci’s right to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
"It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress," Paul said. "There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today."
WATCH: RAND PAUL SAYS THERE'S ONE THING AMERICANS HAVE NEVER HEARD FROM FAUCI
Then Fauci’s lawyer, David Schertler, spoke up to remind Paul it was Fauci’s constitutional right to turn to the Fifth Amendment.
Paul reminded Schertler that neither he, nor the "half dozen" lawyers with Fauci were recognized by the committee. That prompted Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the top Democrat on the panel, to push for Schertler to speak.
But Paul was not having it.
"This is the way Anthony Fauci wants to be remembered — for a lawyer not listening to the rules," Paul said. "That's the way you want to be remembered, and that's what you're going to do. You are not recognized, sir. Security, please remove him from the room."
The hearing chugged along at roughly the same pace — lawmakers would ask Fauci a question, then he would invoke the Fifth Amendment.
But that didn’t stop some on the panel from getting frustrated at his lack of forthrightness.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, noted that Schertler was a well-known lawyer who previously represented former Sen. Bob Menendez, who was sentenced for accepting gold bars and bribes in exchange for using his influence to benefit the Egyptian government.
WATCH: RAND PAUL SAYS FAUCI LOBBIED FOR $1M PRIZE WHILE LEADING COVID RESPONSE
"And there's an article here in the Washington Free Beacon that talks about why you would hire a guy like David Schertler. And the comment is, if you're in deep s---, that's who you call," Moreno said. "Do you feel like you're in deep s---?"
Fauci again declined to answer, which prompted a frustrated Moreno to tell him that his influence over policy during the pandemic in 2020 and the effect that it had on Americans pushed him to run for the Senate.
"Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying, ‘Who the f— do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country,’" Moreno said.
As the hearing wound down, Paul revisited his threat to hold Fauci accountable for declining to answer questions.
Paul announced that he would seek contempt charges against Fauci after he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and teed up a vote in committee for next week.
"We're going to have a vote next week on contempt," Paul said. "I think there's another legal question that the courts may have to decide upon, and that is whether or not a presidential pardon offers you complete immunity."
Fauci never answered a question from any lawmaker on either side of the aisle, sticking to the advice from his lawyers to invoke the Fifth Amendment to protect himself from self-incrimination.
Before the hearing started, Paul and his staff were confident that Fauci wouldn't try to invoke the Fifth Amendment.
So confident, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital, that several questions were prepared ahead of time, and members of the committee were told to come prepared.
In all, Fauci wound up uttering the same phrase 111 times: "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution."
Willie Nelson urges Americans to fight 'water thieving' AI data centers devouring rural Texas farmland
Willie Nelson urged Americans to think again when it comes to building the future.
Nelson, 93, encouraged followers to "fight against data centers invading our land" in a social media plea shared Tuesday.
The country music legend reflected on being able to see "stars at night" in his Texas hometown, but that light pollution and "water thieving" were imminent in a looming industrial climate.
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"I grew up in Abbott, and I still have a home there with farmed land where I can still see stars at night," Nelson told his followers.
"And now our community, like many others, needs to fight against data centers invading our land.
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"The last thing we need is a loud, water thieving, light polluting, data center anywhere near our town (or any others for that matter)."
The "On the Road Again" singer noted how "the strength of rural America has never come from big industrial footprints."
"It comes from generations of people, open spaces, local businesses, and a connection to the land," Nelson wrote. "All of America deserves thoughtful stewardship that doesn’t steal farmland (where our essential shared-food is grown) and small family farmers’ livelihoods, and not data centers that only destroy the environment around them.
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"Whoever controls food and water, controls the masses. Let’s not allow our own demise or give up control over necessary resources in the U.S. and especially in Abbott."
Nelson's a longtime environmental advocate and has raised more than $90 million through his Farm Aid nonprofit, which he co-founded with John Mellencamp and Neil Young more than four decades ago.
The charity was first formed in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on the land.
On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott called for a ban on data center developments in rural Texas.
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"We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods," he said on a campaign stop in Bullard, according to The Texas Tribune.
"I made clear already: Any AI data center even thinking about coming here — they got to bring their own money, bring their own power, reuse their own water and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state.
"We must eliminate the tax break they are getting. They must be responsible for funding their own projects here in Texas. We will get that done."
Top union 'cleared' by law firm over explosive corruption allegation previously gave millions to that firm
A law firm that says it found no evidence to support corruption allegations against two New York City unions has long-running financial and familial ties to those labor organizations, public records show.
The Hotel Trades Council (HTC) and UNITE HERE Local 6 (UH6) hired Pitta LLP to investigate a whistleblower letter alleging a culture of quid pro quo corruption and improper gift-giving at the two unions. The firm’s review was completed in March 2026. While Pitta LLP ultimately found no evidence that the two labor organizations had broken the law, the firm had previously received millions from the unions. The firm's leaders also share family ties with former union leaders.
Some legal experts said this could lead to an appearance of impropriety.
Though the financial and familial relationships may raise eyebrows, Pitta LLP had no legal obligation to disclose them in its review.
Between 2020 and 2025, HTC and UH6 collectively paid $11.6 million to Pitta LLP for legal services, an average of nearly $2 million a year, according to disclosure documents filed with the department.
The Center for Union Facts (CUF), a nonprofit watchdog group that is sharply critical of labor unions and union leadership, provided documentation to Fox News Digital showing that the father of Vincent Pitta, the law firm’s chairman, held leadership positions at the two unions and that his sister is married to Peter Ward, HTC’s former president. Pitta later confirmed both relationships in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital obtained and reviewed the preliminary statement from a second independent investigation conducted by a former state and federal prosecutor affiliated with a different law firm that also concluded that there was no evidence to support any of the allegations of misconduct set forth in the whistleblower letter.
"When confronted with information suggesting that employees, consultants, or other business partners have engaged in serious misconduct, most companies’ first reaction is to consult with a trusted outside firm with which the company has a long working relationship," the law firm Quinn Emanuel wrote in a 2022 publication. "But there are drawbacks to this approach. In a complex internal investigation, a company’s longtime corporate counsel can become subject to ethical conflicts, confirmation bias, divergent incentives and other issues that may produce a suboptimal result for the client."
Quinn Emanuel’s blog post relates to general legal ethics, not the facts of the relationship between Pitta LLP and the two labor unions.
"Companies facing potential criminal or regulatory investigations or any allegation of serious misconduct almost always will be better served by hiring counsel that does not have a long history of providing corporate or transactional advice to the company," the publication continued. "Even where the firm’s lawyers can acknowledge, for example, misconduct by the executives from whom the lawyers have taken instructions, confronting those issues creates tricky reputational and financial problems for the firm … the firm might fear that the company’s board of directors or other executives not implicated in misconduct will blame the firm, thereby jeopardizing the firm’s relationship with the company going forward."
UNIONS THAT PARALYZED NEW YORK COMMUTE OVER PAY SPENT MILLIONS ON LUXURY TRAVEL, FILINGS SHOW
The American College of Trial Lawyers, similarly, released guidance for internal investigations in 2020 which noted that government prosecutors "might be skeptical of an internal investigation of high-level or sensitive wrongdoing conducted by outside counsel regularly retained by the company" because "regular counsel may have a motive to avoid criticizing, and thus alienating, senior management, the source of past and future law firm revenues."
McKenna Long & Aldridge, another law firm, noted that engaging a firm with which an entity has "significant economic ties" presents "an obvious risk to independence" that must be weighed against the benefit provided by their familiarity with the case.
Pitta, in a statement to Fox News Digital, denied that financial and familial ties presented a conflict of interest when investigating the claims made against HTC and UH6.
"Our four-decade relationship with the unions, did not and does not constitute a conflict of interest as it relates to the expedited preliminary review conducted by one of our partners of the ‘anonymous allegations’ which you are interested in," he wrote. "We assiduously ‘call them, as we see them,’ to steal some baseball vernacular — without fear or favor."
Pitta said his firm charges the two unions a reasonable rate for its legal services.
"If the $12 million figure is accurate," he said, the average cost spread across the roughly 40,000 members of the unions would come out to just around "$1 per member per week for expert labor, employment, employee benefits, election law, and other requested legal services."
He also confirmed that his father, who passed away in 2005, held leadership positions at the two unions for roughly 30 years and that his sister is married to Ward. Pitta maintains that neither relationship constituted a conflict of interest and that, if it did, the firm would address it with the "highest ethical standards and the best practices of our profession."
Critics of organized labor, however, see things differently.
"Tapping the union's family firm doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the results," CUF communications director Charlyce Bozzello told Fox News Digital.
CUF has repeatedly targeted Richard Maroko, who serves as president of UH6 and HTC.
Sources familiar with the inner workings of UH6 and HTC previously told Fox News Digital that leadership at the two unions had what they described as an unusually close relationship with hotel management — a relationship they alleged allowed hotel owners to strike beneficial deals in exchange for information that helped union leaders retain their power.
The sources further alleged that individuals involved in hotel management provided union leaders with improper gifts, such as high-end food and drink, to build relationships with them.
An HTC spokesman previously flatly denied the underlying whistleblower claims, pointing to two investigations the union commissioned, including Pitta LLP’s March 2026 review, which found no evidence to support claims that hotel management was unusually close to union leadership or that union officials accepted improper gifts.
"Two exhaustive, independent investigations, including one by a former federal prosecutor, have concluded that these anonymous claims are frivolous, lack any factual basis, and were clearly an attempt to derail contract negotiations between the union and hotel management," HTC spokesman Austin Shafran previously told Fox News Digital. "Thankfully, these efforts failed as our union secured the best contract in its history that will provide unprecedented wage increases and benefits to tens of thousands of hotel workers. Nothing will ever deter the union from working every day to better the lives of our members and their families."
No HTC or UH6 leader, and no hotel executive allegedly involved in the whistleblower claims, has been charged with a crime or found to have engaged in professional misconduct in connection with the allegations.
HTC, which oversees UH6, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about Pitta LLP’s financial and familial ties to the unions.