Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday after being subpoenaed, but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, declining to answer questions throughout the hearing.
The former Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden, who served from 2021 to 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the subject of criticism and conspiracy theories from some on the political right over the US government’s pandemic response.
While the hearing was less confrontational than some had anticipated, a dispute broke out between Senator Rand Paul, the committee’s Republican chair, and David Schertler, one of Dr. Fauci’s attorneys.
Schertler remained beside Dr. Fauci as the former health official invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during the proceedings. The exchange escalated after Senator Paul accused the lawyer of interrupting the hearing.
“You are not invited here for testimony, sir,” Senator Paul told Schertler. “You are being disruptive. Would you behave this way in a courtroom? No, because the judge would put you in jail.”
Senator Paul then ordered security to remove Schertler from the hearing room.
Who is David Schertler?
David Schertler is a Washington, DC-based trial lawyer who has represented corporate executives, public officials and other high-profile clients in criminal, civil and congressional investigations.
He is the founder and managing partner of Schertler Onorato Mead Sears & Manning, a litigation firm based in Washington. Before entering private practice, he served as Chief of the Homicide Section at the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
According to the information provided, Mr. Schertler has worked on several high-profile cases, including matters related to Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal, the KPMG tax shelter investigation, Enron, WorldCom, AOL and international Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations.