I Respectfully Decline to Answer

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: I Respectfully Decline to Answer
Date: July 29, 2026
Host: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the contentious congressional hearing featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci, with Senators Rand Paul and Josh Hawley taking prominent roles. Armstrong & Getty dissect the proceedings, the broader political context, and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—including the erosion of public trust, institutional accountability (or the lack thereof), and the performative nature of contemporary politics. The hosts also touch on side topics including Boy Scouts, new sleep technology, and even a brief foray into mattress covers and religious movements in LA.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Congressional Hearing on Dr. Fauci

• The hearing is framed as a political showdown, with accusations of partisanship and predetermined conclusions.
• Senator Rand Paul aggressively questions Dr. Fauci regarding U.S. funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan and the COVID-19 origin cover-up.
• Dr. Fauci repeatedly invokes the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer virtually all questions – a move that both infuriates and bemuses the hosts and senators.

Memorable Quote:

"The American people weren’t asking for a semantics debate over what is gain of function. They were asking, does common sense say this research was dangerous in Wuhan? ... And when Congress demanded accountability, you hid behind the narrowest possible definition. You can’t have it both ways."
—Rand Paul (05:07)

Timestamp: 02:24 – 09:51

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2. Why Look Back? – The Necessity of Retrospective Accountability

• Discussion on the futility or necessity of examining past pandemic responses.
• Hosts argue passionately that assessing what happened is crucial for learning and future crisis management.
• Quoting Michael Brendan Dougherty (National Review): pandemic restrictions ignored the Constitution and common sense, and the refusal to revisit decisions is “idiotic.”

Memorable Quote:

"The idea that we shouldn’t look back on it is absolutely idiotic. Appraise what we did right, what we did wrong, who told the truth, who didn't, where the COVID came from ... Again, you would have to be either so blinded by your ideology you’re stupid, or just stupid."
—Joe Getty (03:35)

Timestamp: 03:35 – 07:18

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3. Public Trust and Government Overreach

• Rand Paul’s central theme: secrecy and arrogance erode public trust, not transparency or tough questioning.
• Hosts lament how the handling of the pandemic has created vast swathes of citizens who now distrust all public health authorities.

Memorable Quote:

"It is secrecy that destroys trust. It is arrogance that destroys trust. It is censorship that destroys trust ... Trust can't be ordered. It has to be earned. No scientist is above scrutiny. No government official is beyond accountability."
—Rand Paul (06:21)

Timestamp: 06:21 – 08:47

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4. How the Narrative Changed Throughout the Pandemic

• The hosts stress that not all pandemic phases were equal—information and recommendations changed as knowledge evolved.
• Criticism of authorities for failing to adapt policies as new data emerged, particularly regarding masks, school closures, and risks to children.

Memorable Quote:

"You can cut some people some slack in that first month. But the fact that you were, you know, not letting kids hang out together two years into the damn thing when … there hadn’t been a single kid die in the entire country..."
—Jack Armstrong (07:18)

Timestamp: 07:18 – 09:51

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5. Fauci’s Alleged Cover-Up and Pardon

• Accusations of Dr. Fauci having covered up knowledge of COVID-19’s likely lab origin, and having been pardoned by President Biden.
• Debate over whether invoking the Fifth Amendment is even legally justified post-pardon.

Memorable Quote:

"A pardon may protect a person from criminal prosecution … It does not erase documents. It does not convert a misleading statement into a truthful one. And it does not prevent Congress from establishing what happened."
—Rand Paul (05:46)

Timestamp: 05:46 – 09:51

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6. Performative Politics & Media Coverage

• Critique of senators (especially Hawley) for performative stunts (e.g., asking Fauci about the color of his tie).
• Frustration with partisan media coverage that ignores uncomfortable facts from the hearing.

Memorable Quote:

"I really wish we'd get away from performative stunts and like everybody, just try to answer questions and get to the bottom of things. But those days are long past."
—Jack Armstrong (34:15)

Timestamp: 34:09 – 36:59

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7. Debate on Vaccines, Masks, and Pandemic Tribalism

• Reflection on how political tribalism turned a spectrum of responses ('a la carte') into rigid all-or-nothing camps regarding vaccines and restrictions.
• Discussion of the real effectiveness of vaccines versus the overreach of other mandates.

Memorable Quote:

"Like, it was not an a la carte situation. It was just, it was a, it was a fixed menu at a restaurant. You have to take all of it."
—Jack Armstrong (12:50)

Timestamp: 11:10 – 13:08

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8. Lessons for Future Pandemics

• Warnings that loss of trust means many Americans will ignore health authorities in the next pandemic, possibly even good advice.
• Hosts note that the next threat could be very different (e.g., more dangerous to children), and making assumptions based on the last crisis could be dangerous.

Memorable Quote:

"One of the problems is we're learning all these lessons about a particular virus. The next pandemic ... could be completely different in its makeup, who it kills, how it spreads, everything else."
—Jack Armstrong (39:27)

Timestamp: 39:27 – 39:44

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9. Personal & Cultural Sidebars

• Reflection on a Boy Scouts merit badge for constitutional rights, with a humorous libertarian twist:

  "The best thing that any citizen can do for their neighbor is leave them alone."
  —Henry (Jack Armstrong's son, relaying Tim “the Lawyer” Sandifer, 21:41)

• Praise for the positive aspects of Boy Scouts and its continued value.

Timestamp: 20:44 – 22:39

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10. Other Noteworthy Segments

• Brief digression on new sleep technology (“Eight Sleep”), counseling listeners on mattress covers that can cost up to $6,000 and “change your life.”
• Armstrong & Getty touch on a new cult/religious movement in LA, promising more on that to come.

Timestamp: 43:24 – 46:21 (Eight Sleep)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joe Getty (On looking back at the pandemic):

  "...our country by and large reacted to COVID as if the Constitution had been suspended. Nobody was allowed to be a normal human being anymore." (03:35)

• Rand Paul (On government trust):

  "That loss of trust may be your most damaging legacy... No public servant has the right to treat the suffering of millions of Americans as a footnote to his preferred version of history." (06:21)

• Josh Hawley (On Fifth Amendment):

  "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..." (33:29)

• Jack Armstrong (On masks and mandates):

  "...the fact that the vaccine saved lives doesn’t have anything to do with whether or not it was a good idea to stand six feet apart." (12:39)

• Armstrong & Getty (On tribal politics):

  "Our politics is diseased." (Jack Armstrong, 31:17)

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Segment Timestamps for Reference

• Opening Discussion on Pandemic Hearings: 02:24 – 09:51
• Debate on Looking Back and National Review Piece: 03:35 – 07:18
• Rand Paul’s Opening Statement & Primary Critiques: 05:07 – 07:18
• Tribalism and Pandemic Policy: 11:10 – 13:08
• Boy Scouts Sidebar – Libertarian Lesson: 20:44 – 22:39
• Fauci’s Use of the Fifth and Legal Analysis: 25:34 – 29:09
• Performative Senate Politics: 34:09 – 36:59
• Sleep Technology Review: 43:24 – 46:21

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Original Tone

Armstrong & Getty maintain their trademark blend of sarcasm, indignation, humor, and cultural commentary. Their critiques are sharp, but often laced with self-awareness and moments of levity—for instance, riffing on libertarianism, the absurdity of some political stunts, or marveling at luxury mattresses.

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Conclusion

This episode captures the deep frustration, skepticism, and cynicism that have become widespread in discussions about the government’s pandemic response. It highlights not only the continuing battle over COVID-19 policy legacy, but also the larger issue of eroding public trust in American institutions. Listeners are left pondering not just what happened, but whether the nation is prepared to do any better—or simply fall back into entrenched tribalism—the next time a major crisis arises.

Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

Let's go baby.

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[Jack Armstrong]

Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio studio at the

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George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now he's Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

This hearing appears to be a culmination of months of biased and selected efforts by the majority under the guise of a committee investigation to basically legitimize a

[Jack Armstrong]

predetermined conclusion that was reached years ago.

[Joe Getty]

Instead of focusing on the national security

[Jack Armstrong]

challenges that we are facing in our country right now, today's hearing looks backwards,

[Joe Getty]

revisiting questions this committee has already examined. I wanted to play at least a little bit of that that Senator Gary Peters, the ranking member of the committee, at the Dr. Fauci hearing today, explaining that this is just ridiculous. They were looking at the past. Come on. Which is, if you're really stupid, a good argument.

[Jack Armstrong]

So Rand opened up with all the things Fauci has done evil over the years and how we know he's even more evil now than we thought he was before. The Democrat, when he got his turn to speak, said, here we are looking backwards at things we've already examined. Dude, the diary came out. We have new information. Okay. Not that we didn't know this stuff already, right.

[Joe Getty]

On some very important questions. And to that point, I'm going to quote a piece that just came out from Michael Brendan Dougherty at the National Review, and it's all so good, but he says the fact is our country by and large reacted to the COVID as if the constitution had been suspended. Nobody was allowed to be a normal human being anymore. The idea of socially distanced funerals with people crying into medically useless surgical masks appalls me even more. I'm angry that many doctors who advise this would later encourage mass anti racist protests, which quickly and in retrospect, unsurprisingly turned into riots. In general, I feel like one of those people who emerges from a totalitarian regime every day after the collapse of that tyranny. I wish I had resisted it more. But no gesture or action of resistance that occurs to me would have been effective or even understood at the I would agree. This is so enormously impactful and the idea that we shouldn't look back on it is absolutely idiotic. Appraise what we did right, what we did wrong, who told the truth, who didn't, where the COVID came from, the idea that that's somehow a waste of time. Again, you would have to be either so blinded by your ideology you're stupid or just stupid. And if you're just stupid, that's okay. Some people are born that way, and I pity you. But other than that, you have no excuse anyway. So Gary Peters said, this hearing looks backward. It's focused on the past. And Rand Paul, the chairman of the committee, meaning the top guy on the majority party, responded, we'll start with 44.

[Rand Paul]

The American people weren't asking for a semantics debate over what is gain of function. They were asking, does common sense say this research was dangerous in Wuhan? They wanted to know whether their money funded experiments in Wuhan that made bat coronaviruses better able to infect humans. The answer is yes. They wanted to know whether NIAID adequately supervised their work. The answer is no. When you defended this research, you described its benefits in the broadest terms. But When Congress demanded accountability, you hid behind the narrowest possible definition. You can't have it both ways.

[Joe Getty]

Let him roll on.

[Rand Paul]

President Biden issued you a sweeping pardon extending back to 2014, the same pardon he gave to his son, Hunter. A pardon may protect a person from criminal prosecution, doesn't rewrite history. It does not erase documents. It does not convert a misleading statement into a truthful one. And it does not prevent Congress from establishing what happened.

[Joe Getty]

Anybody here a wild eyed maniac just targeting Dr. Fauci out of personal animosity? There. I don't. And then to his main point.

[Rand Paul]

There will be another pandemic. There will be another crisis. And there will again be officials who insist that uncertainty must be hidden for the public's own good. They will demand obedience. They will invoke science. I am the science, as though it were a commandment. They will argue that government officials cannot be questioned because questioning them would undermine public trust. They have it backwards. It is secrecy that destroys trust. It is arrogance that destroys trust. It is censorship that destroys trust. And it is the refusal to admit error that destroys trust. That loss of trust may be your most damaging legacy. Trust can't be ordered. It has to be earned. No scientist is above scrutiny. No government official is beyond accountability, and no public servant has the right to treat the suffering of millions of Americans as a footnote to his preferred version of history.

[Jack Armstrong]

I was listening to the National Review podcast yesterday. They made a couple of really good points, I think, about that pandemic and a future pandemic. One remembering that we didn't get all our information at once. So in those early weeks or like in the first month, nobody had any idea what was going on. We didn't know how it infected people, really. There's all kinds of stuff. So anything that, you know, they suggested or we went along with there in the first month is different than at the nine month mark or certainly at the two year freaking mark when we knew kids don't die from this. The masks don't do much. It's very hard. You can't spread it outdoors. There's not been one case of it spreading outdoor. All that stuff that was known like nine months a year out is not the same as the conversation. And kind of what Iran was getting to there is. You have the most broad view when we're talking about the pandemic. And then when you get to the gain of function, you have a very narrow, specific definition. The pandemic, it was different at the very beginning. There was the end. You can cut some People some slack in that first month. But the fact that you were, you know, not letting kids hang out together two years into the damn thing when we, when they're.

[Joe Getty]

When the tribalism had really set in,

[Jack Armstrong]

when there hadn't been a single kid die in the entire country, I don't think in the entire world. From COVID It's just. Just amazing, right?

[Joe Getty]

Without comorbidities. Yeah, yeah, it is.

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And.

[Joe Getty]

But you can't let Dr. Fauci off the hook. In the very early days of it, he was. I'm extrapolating here from the entries in the diary, and I think just a basic understanding of human nature. He had to be nearly panic stricken when he wrote that entry about. It's. You know, we just convened a dozen epidemiologists and 10 of them said, it's not the market. It's gotta be the lab. And then within a couple of weeks, he was out with that phony statement by his assembled band of experts saying, no way. It's the lab.

[Josh Hawley]

No way.

[Joe Getty]

Even in his diary he was saying, it sure looks. Looks like it. It was not the wet market. And that was from the beginning. So he joined with the communist Chinese to cover up the actual origins of the virus to protect himself and his work at the. At an unspeakable cost.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I wasn't talking about Foushee specifically. I was just talking about the. The government response to the pandemic. I suppose it makes sense to talk about Fauci specifically since he's the guy in a hearing today.

[Joe Getty]

Well, right, because the things you mentioned, though, would have been different, at least partially, and some of them fundamentally, if Fauci had come clean from the beginning, hey, the Wuhan lab was doing some work with these viruses. It could be they weren't careful enough. We need to take a hard look at that, figure out what they were doing and, And. And go accordingly. If he'd said that from the beginning, everything would have been different. He's a monster and a murderer, certainly a liar.

[Jack Armstrong]

It. The. The amazing thing is. And should have grabbed the audio. There is. There is a video floating around out there the next day after that diary entry, January, whatever It was in 2020, where he says the virus started in early December in China. So it didn't happen in the wet market. He knew that the next day he was on TV saying, we don't know. It's probably the wet market. We're not sure yet. But he. And he had, you know, he had written with his own hand that it didn't happen. In the lab 24 hours previously. That's only a certain sort of person that could do that.

[Joe Getty]

We're looking at the past. Why are we looking backward?

[Jack Armstrong]

The other thing they brought up in the National Review podcast I thought was really interesting is imagine if a pandemic broke loose today. There's a big chunk of the country that wouldn't listen to anything. I mean, after we got lied to, like, that kind of ran Paul's point about how you destroy credibility by hiding stuff and lying. You don't, you don't, you don't help your situation, you make it worse. And now that we're like, we have no trust in those people, there'd be giant swaths of the country that wouldn't listen to anything, including things are probably a good idea. Well, that was the other point that was made. So not only do you have the, hey, what part of the pandemic are you talking about? Are you talking about when we didn't know anything about it in the first month or after we had all kinds of data and you were still saying X? And then there's the all or nothing. And this is going to anger some people, but what are you going to do? The vaccines worked. They saved lots and lots of lives. But people that liked the vaccines that were saving lives went hardcore masks. Closing down schools standing six feet apart.

[Joe Getty]

Everything else, vaccine mandates for kids.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then soldiers. And then the people who denied the vaccines denied all the other stuff too, which was fine, but they weren't all the same. I mean, the fact that the, the vaccine saved lives doesn't have anything to do with whether or not it was a good idea to stand six feet apart.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Or whether it was a good idea to mandate vaccines for small children. But people, if you're being ordered to vote straight ticket.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes, exactly.

[Joe Getty]

On one point of view or the other.

[Jack Armstrong]

Like, it was not an a la carte situation. It was just, it was a, it was a, it was a fixed menu at a restaurant. You have to take all of it. I don't believe the vaccines, so I don't believe in anything. Or I believe the vaccines work. So we need to stand six feet apart three years later outside, which is

[Joe Getty]

just healthy young children.

[Rand Paul]

Yeah, catch me outside.

[Sports Announcer]

How about that?

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's why I use Simplisafe every day. I don't think about the fact that, you know, my contract or how long it is or I already paid for it or. No, I love it. I'm so happy that I've got Simplisafe every time I pull away from my house with the cameras and the sensors and everything like that, it's fantastic.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

One more comment about the pandemic that Charles C.W. cook brought up that I thought was really interesting.

[Josh Hawley]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

We got so lucky that that particular virus, that was the worst pandemic in a century for the world, didn't kill kids like we've been talking about. Can you imagine if it did, the unrest we had with it, not killing kids. He was making the argument if it killed kids, we'd have had people shooting each other in the street.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, correct.

[Jack Armstrong]

And I, I could. Yeah, I could see how that would happen. Holy crap.

[Joe Getty]

And my final point, to echo what Rand Paul was saying about how trust is earned and how it's lost and that sort of thing, and transparency brings trust. Scott Atlas is tweeting today with actual entries from news accounts and memos within the White House and all of the first Trump White House trying to silence him because he saw some serious flaws with their policies and he wanted to discuss it. And he was publicly saying, hey, some of this stuff doesn't make sense and we're losing people. We need to talk about this. And the White House itself was trying to choke him down, trying to shut him up, because we've got to have unity because that will inspire trust. They believed the opposite of what's true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now, the charts have been floating around the last couple of days that we've all seen and talked about how states that stayed open, like Florida, did not have more deaths then adjusted for age than states like California. You didn't, you didn't get anything out of keeping your kids out of school or staying in your house. And saw the video again of in California arresting that guy who was kayaking alone out in the ocean, which is one of the most insane things that's happened in my lifetime.

[Joe Getty]

Yes. Yeah, Correct. Good Lord.

[Jack Armstrong]

And Fauci and taking the fifth, it's

[Joe Getty]

too painful for people to admit how wrong they were. That's a big part of this. Yep.

[Jack Armstrong]

Voucher. Taking the fifth on every question we'll have. Anything else exciting happens in the hearing, we'll have it for you.

[Joe Getty]

Stay here, Armstrong and Getty.

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Football is back. On August 1st and 2nd, NFL teams across the league take the field for Back Together weekend presented by YouTube TV.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's go baby.

[Sports Announcer]

With two full days of practices, player interviews and behind the scenes access, it's a can't miss NFL reunion. Back Together Weekend presented by YouTube TV August 1st and 2nd. Go to NFL.comBackTogetherWeekend for more information.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made fifteen dollar bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch upfront payment

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[Jack Armstrong]

Apple will soon let customers lease an iPhone for $17.99 a month.

[Joe Getty]

Oh yeah. Now when you drop your iPhone in

[Jack Armstrong]

the toilet, it's like it's a rental. Yeah, I saw that.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Buying your phone on payments or renting it or whatever.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, no, I mean from the seller's perspective.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[Joe Getty]

Although, what's the payoff? Because the new ones are like 1200 bucks. Oh, we're going to talk about something different. We can talk about that later.

[Jack Armstrong]

So we got some more highlights from the Fauci hearing. Some pretty good stuff coming up, so hope you can stick around for that. So we happen to be friends with a guy we used to call Tim the Lawyer. He was a regular caller of this show and now he's, you know, well known author and brilliant legal mind that fights for everything that is good in America. And, and George Will once called him a national treasure. So he is who I turn to when my son told me that for boy Scouts you got all these different options for merit badges and different ways to go up in ranks. And one of them was, I forget what it's called, something civic, something or other, whatever. One of the project was talk to a lawyer or professor or someone or a judge about constitutional responsibilities and rights. And you know, we know Tim the lawyer. So I, I set up a phone call with my 14 year old and Tim the lawyer had my son write out some questions for him to be ready to go and everything like that. And he talked to Tim, which Tim not only is brilliant, but he's really, really good at explaining things. That's one of the reasons he's such a good, great guest on the radio

[Joe Getty]

and understanding where his audience is.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

In terms of sophistication, etc, which is

[Jack Armstrong]

a talent Many smart people don't have. There are many, many smart people. The number of smart people where that overlaps with the ability to explain it to an audience, like judge the, you know, knowledge level of their audience and explain it is just very few people can do that. Tim's really, really good at it anyway, so I didn't listen. I stayed out of it. I, you know, I didn't want to make Henry uncomfortable or, you know, whatever, so I left him alone to do this.

[Josh Hawley]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

And, and. And Henry brings a phone and he says, I'm done. Everything I talked to him, I said, so how'd it go? And he said, really good. He said. He said, I don't know how happy they're going to be with it. He said, I've. How they're going to be at the school when he starts talking all this libertarian stuff that I just put. I just told him that the. The best thing that any citizen can do for their neighbor is leave them

[Joe Getty]

alone,

[Jack Armstrong]

which is a good one. I don't know if that's exactly what they're going for, but that was. That's fantastic.

[Joe Getty]

Libertarians plotting to take over the world to leave you alone.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

[Joe Getty]

That's great, though. That's so kind of him to help out like that. I'm not.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I. I overheard some of the, you know, really good constitutional rights and responsibility stuff that was really fantastic. Also, at scouts last night, my son was involved. He's been in it long enough now that he was part of teaching the younger scouts the whole flag ceremony, the way they bring out the. The. The American. The u. S. Flag and the scout flag and the way you march and turn around and blah, blah, blah and do all this sort of stuff, and that was very, very cool. I love that that still goes on

[Joe Getty]

somewhere in the country.

[Commercial Announcer]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I would respectfully suggest that those of you who have one problem or another with scouting these days or how it's changed or whatever, it is so clearly on the balance, a force for good. Oh, my God. And patriotism. It's not even close. Just keep that in mind.

[Jack Armstrong]

I observe it on a regular basis.

[Joe Getty]

Another quick note, speaking to Tim Sandifer, I'm enjoying his fabulous book, proclaiming liberty. Like it's a great movie. I mean, I'm loving it. The explanation of the founding fathers and slavery, all men are created equal. Is that hypocrisy? I'll explain it next hour.

[Commercial Announcer]

Stay with us, Armstrong and Getty.

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Before you jump back in, you know that feeling when feedback notes and data are coming in from every direction. ChatGPT work can make sense of it all, turning scattered inputs into ready to review work. With your permission, ChatGPT work can gather context from apps and files, summarize incoming messages, rebuild decks, and help finalize high quality documents for your team or clients. Stay in control as you move from a goal to polished. Work faster with ChatGPT work. Download the ChatGPT desktop app today and take on your most ambitious work Football

[Sports Announcer]

is back on August 1st and 2nd, NFL teams across the league take the field for Back Together weekend presented by YouTube TV.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's go baby.

[Sports Announcer]

With two full drafts, days of practices, player interviews and behind the scenes access, it's a can't miss NFL reunion. Back Together Weekend presented by YouTube TV August 1st and 2nd. Go to NFL.comBackTogetherWeekend for more information.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile now. I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made fifteen dollar bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch upfront payment

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[Jack Armstrong]

I was just reading one supposed legal expert that probably disagrees with other legal experts that said there's absolutely no reason for Fauci to take the Fifth given the fact that he was given a pardon on all the stuff he's being asked about.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, although you're allowed to take

[Jack Armstrong]

the Fifth just to avoid embarrassment, right? No. Nobody can stop you.

[Joe Getty]

Well, yeah, you don't have. You can't be compelled to testify against yourself if you don't feel like it. Your honor, I don't feel like it, so I'm going to take the Fifth.

[Jack Armstrong]

You can make the argument that, well, you know, public health crisis and that's your life's work. So I would think you'd be interested in helping us out here. Also, Byron York, nailing down the proper quote from the opening statement from Fauci. I will invoke my right under the fifth amendment of the Constitution, refrain from answering your questions because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government. It's kind of a funny thing to say. What?

[Joe Getty]

Now out of your respect, you're not

[Jack Armstrong]

going to answer any questions? Okay.

[Joe Getty]

We will be moving on to other fair in a few minutes, including a chat with Mike Lyons about the military situation with Iran. And then also next hour, a discussion of the founding fathers and slavery. And did you know Thomas Jefferson, who owns slaves, crusaded against slavery? Wait, Whoa. I've long longed. That's a good sentence to help people understand that because the knee jer 1619 project explanation of it is absolutely wrong. Anyway, that's all going to come next hour.

[Jack Armstrong]

But I learned about eight sleep yesterday. You are going to learn about eight sleep today. Might be ape sleep. When apes are slumbering the number eight sleep.

[Joe Getty]

It's like so tired. At the end of the day, he must lay his giant furry head down.

[Jack Armstrong]

Eight sleep. This is a really big deal. This could change the way you live.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. What if I like the way I live? Anyway, back on Capitol Hill, Rand Paul is sort of kind of sparring with Fauci. And his attorney, Foushee is taking the Fifth for everything, saying that Rand Paul is a crazed fanatic who just wants to put him in jail. And so he's just got to take the Fifth. We've already played a fair amount of audio from it. If you missed it. Grab the podcast Armstrong and Getty on demand. You ought to be subscribing. Anyway, here is the Randy man and Fauci an example of how it's gone so far.

[Rand Paul]

Dr. Fauci, would you like to at least answer this one question for us today and let us know whether or not you've changed your mind on whether or not the benefits of gain of function research outweigh the risks. On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth amendment to the Constitution. The chairman has denied your assertion of privilege and directed you to answer.

[Sports Announcer]

And.

[Rand Paul]

But you nonetheless refuse and stand on privilege despite the existence of the pardon. The committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against you for the failure to testify after being directed to do so. It's against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today. Senator Peters. You're not recognized. You're not recognized. If you are unruly, you will be removed from the proceeding. You are not. You are not recognized. And you. You are not recognized.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sir.

[Rand Paul]

Sir. You are not recognized. You are not recognized. Security, we'll.

[Jack Armstrong]

We'll hold off.

[Rand Paul]

But you will respect these proceedings. You were told not to sit at the table. You insist on sitting at the table. And we told you you would not be recognized. You are not invited here for. For testimony. Sir, you are being disruptive. Would you behave this way in a courtroom? No, because the judge would put you in jail. I can't do that today, but I can have you escorted from the premises. So I would say, sir, sit quietly and don't say another word. I said sit quietly. You are not recognized. Another word and you're gone.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then what happened?

[Joe Getty]

More of that? Yeah, go on, Michael.

[Jack Armstrong]

So, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to hear what the.

[Rand Paul]

The attorney has to say. He is not recognized by the committee or the chair. If he speaks again, he will be removed from the room. This testimony is from Anthony Fauci. This is not a game with his lawyers. He can advise. His lawyers can give him advice. He's got a half dozen here. They are all allowed to talk to him. Yes, all right. But the attorneys are not recognized. In fact, the attorney was told not to sit at the table, and he's not obeying that recommend. Row behind you, sir. That's where you were told to sit, and you're not. And now you're disrupting the proceedings. And so. Look, this is the way Anthony Fauci wants to be remembered. For a lawyer not listening to the rules, that's the way you want to be remembered, and that's what you're going to do. You are not recognized, sir. Security, please remove him from the room.

[Jack Armstrong]

So the next person to ask questions was a Democrat and decided to go with the stunt of. I'd like to. I'd like to let the lawyer speak.

[Rand Paul]

Ryan.

[Jack Armstrong]

All right.

[Joe Getty]

He's not a witness.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, my God.

[Joe Getty]

Our politics is diseased.

[Jack Armstrong]

It really is. It really is that we're so tribal that we go this way. It's just. And it. And it works in the other direction also. But yeah, God dang it. It's so frustrating. Well, you know, there's one way to know Fauci's innocent of anything. He's got six lawyers with him, even

[Joe Getty]

though he's got a blanket pardon. That's odd claim, if you missed it, is that, you know, he. What he's hinting at is he would say, yeah, Tuesday afternoon I first heard. And then Rand would find out it was actually Wednesday. Let's prosecute him for perjury because I'm a wild eyed lunatic. That's what Fauci was claiming. Why he took the fifth.

[Jack Armstrong]

I wish at least the CBS evening news or MSNBC or whoever, any mainstream media even would point out the one diary entry from January of 2020 where Anthony Fauci says, we've done the research. This did not evolve naturally. This came out of the lab. We now know that he. He says that we now know it came out of the lab and then say Anthony Fauci refused to. Wouldn't. Don't you say refuse? That's prejudicial. Say did not answer questions about this. He took the fifth amendment. Just at least put that out to people.

[Joe Getty]

Right? Right. Well, Josh Hawley took up the cause and went toe to toe with the fifth amendment, citing virus tweaker. Next.

[Josh Hawley]

Well, nothing says honesty like taking the fifth, huh, doc? Let's try something.

[Jack Armstrong]

What day of the week is it today? On the advice of counsel, I respectfully

[Rand Paul]

decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment to the constitution.

[Josh Hawley]

What color tie are you wearing?

[Rand Paul]

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment to the Constitution.

[Josh Hawley]

What color is the carpet in front of you?

[Rand Paul]

On the advice of counsel, I respectfully answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment to the constitution.

[Josh Hawley]

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, as the supreme court has been clear for a century and more. Brown versus Walker, 1896. When he has been pardoned, he may not stand upon his privilege. You know that your lawyer is sitting behind you now shifting nervously in their chairs. They know it. This isn't about the Constitution. This isn't about the law. This is about contempt. Contempt for this body and contempt for the American people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, Josh Hawley is known as one of the smartest lawyers in all of the country. He knows a lot more about that than I do. But is that true? Is that gonna become a thing?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it's one of those things. Ask five lawyers and all five of them will say, it depends.

[Josh Hawley]

The.

[Jack Armstrong]

What color was your tie? Was a performative stunt, which, while I enjoyed it, I really wish we'd get away from performative stunts and like everybody, just try to answer questions and get to the bottom of things. But those days are long past. That's. That's a. That's a horse and buggy era.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, old man, come on. Get with the times. I'm looking at the fifth Amendment right now. No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself unless it's about the color of carpets. Straight from the Constitution. He's not in a criminal case. The lawyers will. Will wrestle over this, because that's what lawyers do. But the answer to your question is, of course, depends. Josh Hawley went on, but I think

[Josh Hawley]

I know why you're doing it. It's because you don't want to answer questions. It's because you did all kinds of terrible things. It's because during the pandemic, you got rich. You got rich while people were dying. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, over a million in the end. And you were getting rich. And not only were you doing that, you were using federal employees with taxpayer money to apply for and solicit cash prizes for you personally. Cash prizes totaling over a million dollars. You did all of that during the pandemic, didn't you?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a question on the advice of counsel.

[Rand Paul]

I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

[Josh Hawley]

5 CFR section 2635, 205B. It says it right there in black and white. You cannot use federal resources. Federal dollars, federal employees, federal offices, federal email, federal time to solicit cash awards. And you did all of it. And the worst part is, thousands of people were dying while you were doing it. You were supposed to be the nation's doctor, and you're playing one on tv, but this is what you were doing with your time. Isn't that true?

[Jack Armstrong]

You got me. On the advice of counsel.

[Rand Paul]

I respectfully declined to answer based upon my rights under the fifth amendment to the Constitution.

[Joe Getty]

And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids. You know, all the bad guys in Scooby Doo, totally unfamiliar with the Fifth Amendment, or they are, they just lost their ass.

[Rand Paul]

I mean.

[Joe Getty]

Well, Josh, how they did a good

[Jack Armstrong]

job of being the guy who gets on the Fox clips this afternoon.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, that was one of the less discussed aspects of the diary, was it became clear that Fauci did email a bunch of his colleagues saying, hey, do me a favor and nominate me for this big award, which comes with a giant cash prize. And they did. And he got it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Okay, that's not cool. I don't like that. If that's.

[Joe Getty]

But it's not fundamental to what we're talking about.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, but that's.

[Joe Getty]

That, that, that.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm still so angry about my kids being locked out of school and not being able to play in a playground. I can't get into those other details. Right. Which he recommended to these states and was lying about everything.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I wish there was a little more coordination, not only among senators, but among the American people. To say, look, Covid was horrific in so many ways, including the fact that, as Michael Brenda Doherty put it, we suspended the Constitution somehow, and the right of landlords to collect rent and student loans. Just a thousand things. Let's rank the top 10 harms 1 to 10 and really focus on the very top ones. To your point, I think you're right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or I've got a friend who was a small business owner that just didn't happen to have the right kind of small business. The ice cream shop next to him was open because it fell under the category of food. Even though all he served was ice cream. His store was different. He didn't get to be open for like a year and a half.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I mean, you talk about taking away people's constitutional rights. Holy crap. You're right to make a living.

[Joe Getty]

And for the millionth time, and this is. I think this is important. This is. I'm teaching a class stuff. Not, we're watching, hearing stuff. The very health agencies that we're talking about, both the American federal agencies and world health organizations had gamed out. If there is a pandemic of this sort, how will we react? And it did not include massive closures and school closures and the rest of it. They carefully and deliberately weighed everything and said, no, that would be way too much damage. But when the crisis came, our politicians panicked and they abandoned their best laid plans and said, trust us, trust us. Nobody gets to dissent. We're gonna silence anybody who disagrees. We represent science. You must suspend your constitutional rights based on our judgment because this is important right now. And it turns out that all of that was wrong. And so the next time something like this faces us, say, oh, fool me once, shame on you, because that's where we are and that's what the purpose of the hearing is.

[Jack Armstrong]

And one of the problems is we're learning all these lessons about a particular virus. The next pandemic, if we have one in all our lifetimes, could be completely different in its makeup, who it kills, how it spreads, everything else else.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right. But the core principles remain.

[Jack Armstrong]

What a frustrating situation.

[Joe Getty]

Yep.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sleep eight. You want to hear about that?

[Joe Getty]

I do.

[Jack Armstrong]

Could change your life every night. I just learned about this yesterday. I can't believe I hadn't heard of this before.

[Joe Getty]

And there's a new cult in LA I want to talk about. Cult, quote, unquote. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw the videos with the hot chick. That's interesting. That's one of the. Where one of the great religious movements began in Los Angeles, the whole Pentecostal thing. Way back in the day.

[Joe Getty]

Isuzu Street.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's starting again. Very exciting. I want to talk about that. I'm hot for that story. So. Okay. Lots of stuff on the way. Stay here, Armstrong and Getty.

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[Sports Announcer]

Football is back. On August 1st and 2nd, NFL teams across the league take the field for Back Together weekend presented by YouTube TV.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's go, baby.

[Sports Announcer]

With two full days of practices, player interviews and behind the scenes access, it's A can't miss NFL reunion. Back Together Weekend presented by YouTube TV. August 1st and 2nd. Go to NFL.com for more information.

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[Joe Getty]

Real quick follow up note. I'm looking all over the news world and everybody is covering the hearing. But like the New York Times, they're covering it. So in such a prejudiced and inaccurate way, they might as well not. All right, just, just systematically ignoring the evidence that doesn't please them. Okay, fine. Not, not surprising.

[Jack Armstrong]

So top salesman in our radio building says to me yesterday, says, have you heard of eight Sleep? You've heard of eight Sleep? And I said, no, I've never heard of it. Mila, you haven't heard of eight Sleep? Elon talks about it all the time and Zuckerberg and people like that. It's super expensive. It's a sleep product.

[Joe Getty]

Product.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's a smart mattress cover. You put it over your. Whatever bed you got, you put it over it. You can get the a base with it if you don't have a movable base already, because that can be part of it too.

[Josh Hawley]

It's.

[Jack Armstrong]

It ranges from like 3,000 to $6,000. This mattress cover, it's a lot of money. But this smart sales guy I was talking to yesterday, he bought one, he was, he was going to buy one used because they're so expensive. And he was, he was worried that it was you know, a scam and you know, influencers were talking it up because you know, they're getting paid, blah, blah, whatever. But anyway, he was looking at the comments on this one that was for sale used. People were commenting on the ad for it, Facebook, marketplace or wherever. It was all saying, I can't believe you're selling this. This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me, you know, etc. Etc. He did more research and, and he, he, he bought a new one and he's gonna have it soon and I can't wait to hear about it.

[Joe Getty]

So here's what he passed on that great opportunity to buy used bedding.

[Josh Hawley]

Huh?

[Joe Getty]

Okay,

[Jack Armstrong]

well, $6,000 sleep mattress thingy, sure cover here. So what it is, it's got, again, it's a mattress cover and it's got all these little water things that go through there, these tiny little tubes full of water that change temperatures and stuff. And it's got a computer in it and it reads your body temperature and it constantly adjusts cool water, hot water for various parts of your body to different temperatures while monitoring your sleep. And it's supposed to be a life changing experience in terms of keeping you asleep and keeping you comfortable.

[Joe Getty]

Oh boy. My, my bride who piles on this the, the covers, then throws them all off and puts them on again.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, she's gonna demand one of these

[Joe Getty]

by close of business today.

[Jack Armstrong]

You can get dual zone. So you know, it's, it's warming you up while it's cooling her down or vice versa, or heating up your head and cooling off your feet or whatever. And then the movable base part of it, if you go for like the six thousand dollar job with the movable base, you start to snort, tilt your head up a little bit, you stop snoring or the rate too high, lower, whatever. It's monitoring your sleep the whole time, adjusting all of the way your feet and your head are moved and all the various temperatures of your body. Oh, and then wakes you up properly, like you have your alarm set on it. So it brings you out of whatever deep sleep stage you're in in the perfect way to be in the right part of your sleep cycle. Anyway, people swear by it and say it's awesome. I'd like to try it.

[Joe Getty]

I'll tell you that my clients coming up and Gettysburg.

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[Jack Armstrong]

This is Tony Ayo from the Real Report with Tony Ayo and Uncle Murder. You ever notice how everything keeps going up? Rent, streaming, even extra Sosa at your favorite burrito spot. But with Boost Mobile, you don't have to play the Willis Go up soon game. Boost Mobile offers an unlimited talk, text and data plan at a price that'll never go up. It's the same price you'll pay for life. Switch now for unlimited wireless at a price that'll never go up. Up only at boost mobile. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay $25 a month as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan.

[Sports Announcer]

Football is back on August 1st and 2nd, NFL teams across the league take the field for Back Together weekend presented by YouTube TV.

[Jack Armstrong]

Let's go baby.

[Sports Announcer]

With two full days of practices, player interviews and behind the scenes access, it's a can't miss NFL reunion. Back Together Weekend presented by YouTube TV August 1st and 2nd. Go to NFL.comBackTogetherWeekend for more information.

[Jack Armstrong]

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