111 is the number of times Anthony Fauci repeated the phrase "On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution" at a Senate hearing chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. No question from any lawmaker on either side of the aisle received a substantive answer. Paul announced a committee contempt vote for next week before the session ended.
Fifth Amendment wall
Before the hearing, Paul's staff was confident Fauci would not invoke the Fifth Amendment. A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that committee members were told to come prepared with questions. Paul had also released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci's unredacted diary online ahead of the session.
That confidence proved misplaced. Fauci's stated reason for blanket refusal: Paul's public calls for his imprisonment, combined with the diary release, were designed to get him to say something that could be used against him. Fauci acknowledged it pains him to invoke the Fifth given his decades-long record of cooperating with Congress, but did so on advice of counsel.
Lawyer removed from the room
Tension arrived early. Fauci's attorney, David Schertler, spoke up to remind Paul that the Fifth Amendment is a constitutional right. Paul, as committee chair, ruled Schertler was not recognized by the committee and directed security to remove him. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the panel, pushed for Schertler to be heard. Paul declined.
Schertler 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. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, cited that history on the record before telling Fauci directly that his pandemic-era influence over policy was the reason Moreno ran for the Senate.
Contempt vote and the pardon question
Paul announced the contempt vote after Fauci's 111th invocation. He also flagged a separate legal question: whether Biden's pardon grants Fauci complete immunity from prosecution, a matter Paul said courts may need to resolve. Paul's opening statement had accused Fauci and the National Institutes of Health of funding gain-of-function research for years and misleading Congress, with alleged record destruction adding to what Paul called a fracture in public trust. "Trust can't be ordered," Paul said. "It has to be earned."