A New Plan for Closer U.S.-Israel Military Cooperation, and the First mRNA Flu Vaccine

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**Tracy Mumford** (0:33)
From the New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Thursday, August 6th. Here's what we're covering.
On Capitol Hill, a controversial measure is working its way through Congress that would reshape America's relationship with Israel when it comes to military support. For years, the US has sent Israel $3.8 billion in annual military assistance. But that deal runs out in a couple of years, and some lawmakers who support Israel are worried that the chances of re-upping it are dwindling, as public support in the US for that kind of arrangement is dropping sharply, following backlash to Israel's conduct in Gaza. Recent Times-Siena polling, for example, found that among Republican voters aged 18 to 44, about two-thirds said the US should not give more economic and military support to Israel. And in the House last month, nearly half of Democrats backed a measure that would have ended US aid to the country. Facing that, a group of lawmakers has put forward a new proposal that would phase out the annual financial commitment and instead create a new office at the Pentagon that would be legally required to facilitate a U.S.-Israel Defense Industrial Partnership, the kind of partnership that the US already has with close allies like Britain and Australia. Supporters of the plan, including President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say it's a way to collaborate on things like AI, missile defense, and cybersecurity, and for the US to capitalize on Israeli defense and intelligence innovations. But critics say it would give Israel too much control of sensitive US military matters, and that it could intertwine Israel's military with the Pentagon in ways that might be dangerous and difficult to unwind.
Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky, one of the few Republicans who have spoken out against the measure, called it a, quote, betrayal of American sovereignty. And in an interview with the Times, Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, argued that the US government could always choose to work with another country on a case-by-case basis, but that, quote, what's sort of jaw-dropping about this is that it mandates it. One version of the plan passed the House last month and is now waiting for action in the Senate.
Today, the Senate Homeland Security Committee will vote on whether to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's former top infectious disease expert, in contempt of Congress following a heated hearing last week in which he declined to answer any questions. Let's try something.

**Anthony Fauci** (3:25)
What day of the week is it today? On the advice of council, I respectfully declined to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

**Tracy Mumford** (3:35)
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment, his constitutional right not to incriminate himself, more than a hundred times, in response to questions big and small, as Republican senators accused him of funding research that led to the coronavirus pandemic, something there's been no evidence of. What color is the carpet in front of you?

**Anthony Fauci** (3:54)
On the advice of council, I respectfully declined to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

**Tracy Mumford** (4:01)
Political experts say that Fauci basically took a better safe than sorry approach to avoid any accusations that he was lying under oath. But his repeated responses frustrated Republicans. Let's just get one thing straight. You don't have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you've been pardoned, as you very well know. And today, they're going to argue that Fauci's not entitled to plead the Fifth because President Biden gave him an unconditional pardon covering his work during the pandemic.
Biden issued that pardon on his way out of office after Republicans vowed to pursue several prominent figures from his administration, including Fauci. So Republicans are basically saying that because Fauci's protected by that pardon, he has no right to refuse their questions. If the contempt vote passes the committee today, the case could eventually be referred to federal prosecutors, and Fauci could face a fine or up to a year in prison. Many legal scholars predict it won't get to that point, and one law school professor who's an expert on pardon power told The Times that if a court rules Fauci can't claim the fifth, it would be a huge break in precedent. Quote, that would say you take the fifth at your own risk of going to jail. And that turns the Fifth Amendment upside down.