Snopes readers wrote in asking whether Fauci was allowed to invoke the Fifth Amendment in spite of his presidential pardon. It is important to remember that invoking the Fifth Amendment is not an admission of guilt — under U.S. law, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. "This produces the same result as if the witness invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege and did not testify at all," according to Justia. The higher level of immunity, transactional or total immunity, goes above and beyond Fifth Amendment rights. So, with this background, can Fauci plead the Fifth?