When it comes to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Republican hysterics have been quite excessive for several years, though the problem is arguably getting worse. Just this week, for example, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin blamed the immunologist for the U.S. response to the pandemic and put “the deaths of millions” at Fauci’s feet.

“How much bigger a crime has ever been committed in all of history?” the conspiratorial GOP senator asked rhetorically.

Hours earlier, Johnson and every other Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt because he exercised his constitutional rights during a hearing a week earlier, repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment in response to a rather transparent perjury trap.

The panel’s chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, said he would refer Fauci to the Justice Department for prosecution on his own, bypassing a vote on the Senate floor for the time being.

If Donald Trump’s DOJ actually were to try and pursue a criminal case against Fauci, it would likely face long odds in the courts; but does the president want to see one of the nation’s most accomplished and celebrated scientists charged anyway?

A reporter posed the question to the Republican shortly after the committee vote.

“Well, you know they prosecuted [White House adviser] Peter Navarro, and they prosecuted [former White House official] Steve Bannon, two very decent people, over something that essentially was never prosecuted before,” the president replied.

He added, “But [then-Attorney General] Merrick Garland prosecuted two very decent people and sent them to jail. I wasn’t president. I would have given them a pardon in two seconds, but this was after I left. They waited until after I left and then they prosecuted these two people, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves.”

Trump concluded, “So when you see that happen, you sort of say, maybe [Fauci] should [be prosecuted]. What he did is far more serious than a lot of crimes, frankly.”

For now, let’s not dwell on every individual error of fact and judgment in the president’s remarks. Suffice it to say, contempt of Congress has been prosecuted before; there’s no evidence of Garland having any role in the Navarro or Bannon cases; prosecutors brought the cases after Trump left office because the crimes occurred after Trump left office; and the suggestion that Fauci’s actions were “far more serious than a lot of crimes” is obviously bonkers.

But what struck me as interesting were the superficial similarities that are of apparent interest to the president: If lawmakers separately accused Navarro, Bannon and Fauci of contempt of Congress, and Navarro and Bannon were prosecuted, then maybe it stands to reason that Fauci should be charged, too?

The answer, of course, is “no” for reasons that even Trump should be able to understand. When Navarro and Bannon received congressional subpoenas, they ignored them. When Fauci received a congressional subpoena, he honored it, provided senators with the relevant documents and at least showed up for the scheduled hearing.

If Navarro and Bannon had done the same thing, they wouldn’t have been charged. It’s that simple.

The president’s comments exposed his ignorance, but they also made clear to DOJ officials what Trump expects, making some kind of prosecutorial effort against Fauci that much more likely.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

The post Trump weighs in on Fauci, says ‘maybe he should’ face prosecution appeared first on MS NOW.

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