Senator Rand Paul isn’t known for being calm and collected, nor is he particularly adept at avoiding conflict…but this is kind of the point. The Kentucky lawmaker sees himself as a disruptor of sorts, whose ideas about freedom are both novel and jarring, but delivered with the conviction of a seasoned executioner.
But this has led Paul down a path of conflict time and again. His fiery rhetoric in the halls of Congress have seen him engaged in a number of squabbles with his fellow lawmakers, and something he did or said caused his neighbor to attack him, injuring several of the politician’s ribs.
Now, Paul is in an ugly feud with the nation’s top epidemiologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and has told TV host Sean Hannity that he’ll be seeking a criminal investigation into comments that Fauci made in front of Congress.
“You kicked off your questioning of Dr. Fauci, emphasizing federal law makes lying to Congress a felony punishable by up to five years in prison,” Hannity said. “Is it your belief based on the evidence, Senator, that he lied before Congress and broke the law?”
“Yes, and I will be sending a letter to the Department of Justice asking for a criminal referral because he has lied to Congress,” Paul replied. “We have scientists that were lined up by the dozens to say that the research he was funding was gain-of-function. He’s doing this because he has a self-interest to cover his tracks and to cover his connection to Wuhan lab. Now, does he deserve all the blame? No, there’s still some conjecture as to whether or not it came from the lab. But he’s lying about whether or not he funded gain-of-function research, and yes, he should be punished.”
There’s no telling if the Biden administration’s DOJ will take the complaint seriously, however, or if they’ll simply chalk Paul’s issues up to partisan puffery.
