Former top US health official Anthony Fauci has refused to answer questions at a tense US Senate hearing on Covid-19, saying he feared Republicans would try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.
He invoked the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution – which says nobody can be "compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" – more than 100 times.
Republicans have long accused Fauci of concealing information about the pandemic from the public and lying about its dangers. He has denied wrongdoing.
Fauci has called the allegations against him "simply preposterous" in previous testimony to lawmakers.
Before leaving office in 2025, then-President Joe Biden issued a pre-emptive pardon to Fauci, granting him protection from any prosecution.
Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews
For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news
#BBCNews
