THE AMERICAN POSEIDON ADVENTURE

(Sen. Ron Johnson, not Wyden)

The Senate hearing to interrogate Dr. Anthony Fauci, conducted by Senator Rand Paul is, to date, one of the most sordid and disturbing examples of the Maga Republican Party’s increasingly un-American and authoritarian behavior.

The hearing appears to have been deliberately constructed as a redux of the proceedings associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy’s reign of persecution, hearings in which reputations were recklessly destroyed for political advantage and personal self-promotion, with little regard for constitutional rights, fairness, or basic human decency. Like McCarthy, Senator Paul has allowed his personal obsessions and animosity toward Dr. Anthony Fauci to overwhelm the responsibilities of his office, abusing the power and authority entrusted to him by the American people.

Dr. Fauci’s attorney clearly explained why he advised his client to exercise his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Given the current political environment, one in which Republican officials have repeatedly used governmental power to pursue personal and political retribution, Dr. Fauci was entirely justified in protecting himself.

Donald Trump and Senator Paul have both expressed their desire to see Dr. Fauci imprisoned. Such statements are grossly irresponsible and pejorative coming from elected officials. They also illustrate a profound disregard for due process, the presumption of innocence, their oaths of office, and simple human decency.

We know the playbook employed against others. Republican Congressman Jim Jordan referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Department of Justice, alleging that Smith lied during congressional testimony, a felony accusation. Legal scholars reviewing the referral have widely described it as meritless and politically motivated: an effort to punish Smith for doing his job and to intimidate others who might be called upon to investigate powerful political figures like: James Comey, Letitia James, or the former members of the military: Senators Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly or Congressional Representatives Maggie Goodlander, Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan who opposed Trump/Hegseth’s policies. 

The same objective was evident in the Fauci hearing. The goal did not appear to be a genuine search for truth. Rather, it was an attempt to manufacture some facsimile of a legitimate justification for prosecuting and punishing Dr. Fauci because he refused to promote the party line.

Some of the hearing’s questions deserved serious consideration. Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, asked intelligent and probing questions. It was evident that Dr. Fauci wanted to respond; he even apologized to the senator for invoking the Fifth Amendment to protect himself from possible entrapment or politically motivated prosecution.

Other participants, however, transformed the proceeding into a spectacle. Senator  Ron Johnson’s statements and questions were, at times, petulant and ignorant. Senator Josh Hawley’s behavior was particularly demeaning and despicable. His performance was a glaring exercise in intimidation, far beneath the standards of integrity, fairness, and decorum Americans should expect from our government.

The Salem Witch Trials made more sense and displayed more integrity, and a burning at the stake would have been conducted with greater dignity than portions of this Republican-led Senate hearing.

We must end the bastardization of our government, the destruction of individual rights, and the intellectual and moral decadence the MAGA movement has inflicted upon the United States. Government must not become an instrument of personal vengeance. Congressional hearings must not be converted into ‘gotcha’ show trials. And no American, regardless of political affiliation, should abuse public office to threaten, humiliate, and persecute those who refuse to bend to the will of a political leader or movement.

VOTE!!!

RESIST!!! & EDUCATE!!!