on Wednesday invoked and decline to answer questions from senators .
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to appear before a Senate committee. It鈥檚 part of Paul鈥檚 that the now-retired infectious disease expert had lied about the pandemic, something
Meanwhile, roughly six weeks before the first midterm ballots , the U.S. Postal Service is emerging as a pivotal player in an election season that will determine control of Congress. President Donald Trump while a change to how the agency processes mail is leading to criticism that it鈥檚 failing to deliver ballots on time.
Here’s the latest:
Fauci isn鈥檛 answering questions after invoking the 5th
In his remarks at the top of the hearing, Fauci accused Sen. Paul of having an 鈥渙bvious obsession with calling for my prosecution.鈥�
鈥淭he only conclusion that 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.鈥�
He said he would refrain from answering questions upon advice from his attorneys.
Fauci pleading the Fifth, according to prepared remarks
A draft of the 85-year-old鈥檚 opening statement shows he won鈥檛 be getting into the details Sen. Paul wants to discuss.
Anyone under oath has the right to cite the Constitution鈥檚 Fifth Amendment that ensures no person can be compelled to give self-incriminating testimony.
Fauci鈥檚 decision diminishes the potential for fireworks between Fauci and the chairman. But it also could give Paul a relatively uninterrupted platform to frame his arguments on the pandemic, its origins and the federal response.
Sen. Paul opens hearing accusing Fauci of covering up COVID-19 origin
The senator is trying to build the case that Fauci and other officials helped produce the COVID-19 pandemic by approving funding of research on virus mutations and then covered up their complicity.
Fauci鈥檚 lawyers and his supporters vehemently deny those accusations.
Paul said Fauci should admit that 鈥渇unding this research in China鈥� was 鈥渁 mistake鈥� and that he made false statements during the pandemic 鈥� including to Congress 鈥� that the virus was not conceived in a laboratory.
鈥淵our primary concern was hiding the fact that you had approved funding for this dangerous research,鈥� Paul said.
The senator called Fauci鈥檚 鈥渃ategorical public denials indefensible鈥� and said he has 鈥渄estroyed trust.鈥�
COVID-19 Senate hearing starts with Rand Paul and Dr. Anthony Fauci
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has opened its hearing with Fauci.
The physician and immunologist who helped lead the U.S government response to the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to face aggressive questioning from Republican members, especially Chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Paul has for years questioned the origins of the COVID virus and federal health officials鈥� accounts.
The senator already has released reams of Fauci鈥檚 diary entries during the pandemic and said that what scientist 鈥渨rote privately and what he told the country are two different stories.鈥�
Investigators in Comey seashells case omitted key facts and distorted others, defense lawyers allege
Federal officials involved in the misled judges, submitted false statements and withheld key facts during the course of the investigation, that seek the dismissal of a case charging the former FBI director with threatening President Trump on social media.
Lawyers for Comey made the allegations of misconduct in motions filed late Tuesday that also call the case a vindictive and selective prosecution, request access to transcripts of grand jury proceedings to expose what they say are 鈥渋rregularities鈥� in how the indictment was secured, and describe 鈥渦nlawful鈥� surveillance of Comey by the Secret Service.
Taken together, the new motions, that called Comey鈥檚 social media post protected speech and not a threat, represent a multiprong defense effort to dismantle a case defense lawyers say exemplifies a Trump administration retribution campaign .
鈻�
Trump鈥檚 attacks on mail balloting and concerns over delays turn midterms spotlight on Postal Service
Roughly six weeks before the first midterm ballots , the U.S. Postal Service is emerging as a pivotal player in an election season that will determine control of Congress.
President Donald Trump is seeking greater control over mail balloting through an executive order while a change to how the agency processes mail is leading to criticism that it鈥檚 failing to deliver ballots on time.
Democratic officials have raised concerns over the past week about how quickly the Postal Service will process ballots after tens of thousands of them in California and hundreds in Wisconsin arrived at local election offices too late to be counted in elections earlier this year. The top election offices in Kansas and Michigan are urging voters who want to cast their ballots early to avoid the mail and instead drop them off in person.
The Postal Service replied to those concerns Tuesday by saying it remains 鈥渃ommitted to fulfilling our role in the electoral process.鈥�
鈻�
Anthony Fauci again faces questions from Senate Republicans about pandemic origins
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. scientist who helped COVID-19 pandemic response, is set to face off 鈥� again 鈥� with a Republican senator probing the
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky subpoenaed Fauci to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday. It鈥檚 part of Paul鈥檚 that the now-retired infectious disease expert had lied about the pandemic, something
Leading up to the hearing, Paul released more than a thousand pages of Fauci鈥檚 personal diary covering the pandemic years. Pointing to some notes about early efforts at understanding how the virus emerged, Paul wrote on the social media platform X that what Fauci 鈥渨rote privately and what he told the country are two different stories.鈥�
But they鈥檙e likely to further inflame a partisan divide that, years after the pandemic, still makes Fauci a from people who blame him for mask mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights as hundreds of thousands of people were dying.
鈻�
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
