Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s attempt to score political points on one of MAGA’s top villains has brutally backfired, humiliating President Donald Trump in the process.
Hawley was among the lawmakers grilling Dr. Anthony Fauci when he appeared before the Senate Homeland Security Committee and repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on Wednesday.
Hawley, 46, accused Fauci, 85, of trying to enrich himself during the COVID-19 pandemic, but melted down on X after Joe Biden’s one-time chief medical adviser invoked the Fifth and refused to participate in his witch hunt.
After the hearing, Hawley posted a clip of him and Fauci’s exchange on X and wrote, “Hint for you: no honest person pleads the Fifth.”
Hawley may have forgotten that Trump, 80, has done the same hundreds of times.
Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times while being questioned by lawyers from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office in a deposition for a civil fraud investigation in 2022.
At the time, Trump defended invoking the Fifth in a statement he read during the deposition.
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question. When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice,” he said.
James ultimately brought a $250 million civil complaint against Trump, arguing his organization defrauded lenders by inflating the value of properties to secure more favorable loans.
Trump was ordered to pay more than $355 million in penalties, though an appeals court later tossed the fine while upholding the judgment.
Hawley, who spent the rest of the day reposting other people’s clips of his exchange with Fauci, was once a champion of Trump’s MAGA agenda, but has occasionally broken with the president in his second term. There are rumors he may be eyeing a 2028 presidential campaign.
