Over 100 times, Fauci stayed silent, invoking the Fifth Amendment. Republican committee members claimed he had no right to invoke the Fifth Amendment and will vote next week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Paul claims Fauci knowingly lied about America funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan laboratory where the COVID-19 virus was developed. “He is the highest paid government employee ever,” Hawley told reporters afterward, claiming Fauci has a $400,000 yearly pension paid out using taxpayer dollars. “He does not have the Fifth Amendment right,” Hawley told the press.