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Dr Anthony Fauci has been found in contempt of Congress and could now be referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution, in an escalation of the case against the top COVID doctor.

In a party line vote in the House Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee, lawmakers moved to continue their crusade against Fauci following an explosive hearing on Capitol Hill last week.

Fauci refused to answer over 100 questions asked of him by invoking the Fifth Amendment. GOP lawmakers probed him about his time as the nation's leading infectious disease specialist, and the guidance he recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul said that due to Fauci's pardon - that ex-President Joe Biden gave him - the Fifth Amendment protection wouldn't apply.

'I ordered him to answer and warned him about contempt, yet he still refused. That is obstruction of a congressional investigation. The Committee will act accordingly,' Paul stated.

Paul said on Thursday that all Fauci had to do 'was tell the truth' and the contempt vote wouldn't have been necessary. Meanwhile, Democrat Gary Peters called it a 'witch hunt' and an unnecessary escalation.

The Republican has indicated that he plans to immediately refer Fauci to the Department of Justice for potential legal action.

The night before the contempt vote, the Senate committee obtained Fauci's COVID-era phone. It's a major development in the Republican-led investigation of the doctor, and could be crucial to understanding how public health officials made decisions during the pandemic.

Fauci's refusal to provide any answers incensed Republicans keen on getting to the bottom of the public health crisis.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been asked to appear before Congress again after avoiding answering questions 111 times during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on Wednesday

Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, clashed with Dr Fauci numerous times during a Senate Homeland Security last week

During his opening statements on Capitol Hill in last week's hearing, Fauci accused Paul of having an 'unhinged obsession' with him.

And several moments went off the rails.

Republican Senator Bernie Moreno called Fauci a 'total disgrace.'

The Senator said he felt compelled to run for office six years ago when he saw a story of a mom being arrested while watching a football game outside with her family, due to breaking guidelines issued by governments based on Fauci's advice.

'Who the f**k do you think you were for doing that? It was a total disgrace to this country, and if my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you, I hope the voters of the United States of America have watched clips of every one of them building a guy who was more interested in being a celebrity than doing his job,' he exclaimed.

Fauci's personal diaries were released earlier this week, showing how he delighted in his interactions with celebrities as America went through the death throes of the early pandemic.

The brutal Capitol Hill grilling might not have been Fauci's last.

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has requested transcribed interviews with the infamous COVID-19 doctor, as well as other Food and Drug Administration officials.

Johnson alleges that senior FDA officials ignored warnings that the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring system was failing to detect potential safety signals.

The closed-door transcribed interview process is what the House Oversight Committee has been using in the Epstein investigations. Information obtained has been released to the general public within days of the interviews.

Johnson is requesting that Fauci appear before his committee to 'provide much-needed transparency about the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's response to it, including early treatments and the development, deployment, safety monitoring, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.'

If the doctors requested to appear for interviews do not do so voluntarily, Johnson noted that he is prepared to use a 'compulsory process.'

The Daily Mail reached out to Fauci's attorney to see if the doctor plans to appear as requested in the letter.