CNN Defends Fauci's Fifth Amendment Pleas, Blames Republicans

Sarah Butler
August 5th, 2026 2:45 PM

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On Sunday, CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield hosted emergency room physician Dr. Rob Davidson. The two glorified Dr. Anthony Fauci and praised him for his efforts during COVID. They complained about him being “attacked” by Republicans during a Senate hearing even though he “guided the nation through the COVID pandemic.”

Whitfield began by portraying Fauci as a hero and describing him as “the man who guided the nation through the COVID pandemic.” She exclaimed that he is now “being grilled by mostly Republicans” for his actions during the pandemic and played a clip of him on Capitol Hill pleading the Fifth amendment which he did over one hundred times.

 

 

When asked what his response was to this, Davidson responded: “I think one of the biggest concerns is that it's sad that he had to go there and do that.” He went on to emphasize that it’s “sad that he had to plead the Fifth so he didn't end up perjuring himself.” Davidson blamed it on Senator Rand Paul who has “stated he wants him [Fauci] in jail.” 

Davidson mentioned both Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) want to “make sure that he's either in court or in jail for the rest of his life.” He claimed that Fauci is “under attack” simply because he was the “face of the of the COVID response.” 

Davidson admitted that not everything went perfectly during COVID and that people everywhere including people Fauci trained can attest to that. He went on to ask “Did they do everything they thought was exactly correct in the moment to prevent illness, to prevent death? Absolutely.” 

Confidently, Davidson stated: “I have no doubt in my mind that the intentions of every action that was taken was to spare people's lives.” His support for this claim was that he “remember(s) masks and gowns and all of that.” 

At the end of the segment, Davidson complained that “these senators in this political theater are absolutely missing the mark.” He went on to say that the attention should not be on Fauci right now but rather, “they’re ignoring the real crises going on right now -- people without insurance, measles, Cyclospora. They're ignoring what's really going on that we need to be addressing.”

Click Expand to view the transcript:

CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield
8/1/2026
2:43:53-2:46:13

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD (CNN ANCHOR): You saw Dr. Anthony Fauci, you know, the man who guided the nation through the COVID pandemic being grilled by mostly Republicans about his response as he had to testify on Capitol Hill. And he repeated these words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI (FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER): I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. 

I respectfully decline to answer --

I respectfully decline to answer --

I respectfully decline to answer --

I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yeah, what was your response to this this week, especially since, you know, you joined us many times on the show during the pandemic, helping people navigate everything that they were experiencing. What did this moment, I guess, do or compel in you?
 

DR. ROB DAVIDSON (EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN): Yeah, I think one of the biggest concerns is that it's sad that he had to go there and do that, right? It is sad that he had to plead the Fifth so he didn't end up perjuring himself. And that's what I'm understanding his lawyers told him to do. It's because the chair of that committee, Senator Rand Paul, has stated he wants him in jail.

I mean, Senator Ron Johnson has said this. Senator Tuberville in Alabama said when he's governor, they're going to try to find state charges and make sure that he's either in court or in jail for the rest of his life. And so he's under attack for the fact that he was the face of the of the COVID response, right?

Did everything go perfectly? No. He will tell you that. The people that he has trained in his life, people across public health, it did not go perfectly. Did they do everything they thought was exactly correct in the moment to prevent illness, to prevent death? Absolutely. I have no doubt in my mind that the intentions of every action that was taken was to spare people's lives.

And we saw it. I mean, I remember masks and gowns and all of that, and saying, you know, people want, I've been seeing a lot of people with these hearings going back and posting pictures of them in full, you know, full gear with o kind of memory-hole this and pretend like it never happened. We were there. We saw it happening. We saw our neighbors and our family dying from this. And they're just, you know, these senators in this political theater are absolutely missing, missing the mark.

And they're ignoring the real crises going on right now -- people without insurance, measles, cyclospora. They're ignoring what's really going on that we need to be addressing.

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