Republican Senator Rand Paul said ‌he would refer Fauci to the Justice Department, a formal request to consider criminal charges, based on the contempt finding. But the Kentucky senator, a longtime Fauci antagonist, bypassed a referral vote by the full Senate. "Dr Fauci has committed no crime — and Senator Paul knows it," Schertler said, describing the resolution as a continuation of a "personal vendetta." The senator claims Fauci's institute funded risky virus research in China that sparked the pandemic through a lab leak there. Paul said Fauci had no valid Fifth Amendment claim because the pardon nullified it and because Fauci waived any remaining protection by testifying.