Fauci Faces Possible Prosecution After Taking the 5th; Mamdani Booed Off Stage | 8/7/26 FIRST LOOK

7 Aug 2026 · 10 min · 3 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

Senate Homeland Security Committee votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt after he invoked the Fifth Amendment 100+ times; more evidence emerges via a government iPhone. Also covers NYC Mayor Zoran Mamdani being booed off a Staten Island stage at a pro-police event, plus South Korea’s Denuri lunar orbiter capturing before-and-after images of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage impact.

Guests

No named podcast guests; only officials and commentators mentioned (e.g., Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Ron Johnson, RFK Jr., NYC Mayor Zoran Mamdani, Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for DC).

Key claims

Fauci’s diary entries show manipulation and fame obsession; Biden’s preemptive pardon prevents federal prosecution, but contempt could enable referral. Mamdani’s “radical agenda” is tanking popularity; his anti-police and anti-Israel rhetoric is linked to backlash.

Notable examples

Fauci’s diary entries; Fauci’s government iPhone obtained by Sen. Ron Johnson’s subcommittee; Mamdani’s 43-second speech and booing at NYPD National Night Out; Denuri images of a four-ton Falcon 9 stage hitting near Einstein crater at ~5,400 mph.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Fauci Faces Contempt of Congress

1:10 to 4:22

Discussion of Fauci's contempt vote and the implications of his actions.

“First up, the walls are closing in on Anthony Fauci.”

Mamdani Booed Off Stage

4:22 to 6:31

Analysis of Zoran Mamdani's unpopular speech and his declining support.

“New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani was booed off the stage this week at a pro-police event in Staten Island, cutting his speech short amid a cascade of jeers that made his radical record impossible to ignore.”

Space Debris Impact Study

6:31 to 8:40

Exploration of South Korea's lunar orbiter capturing a rocket stage impact.

“Soft on crime policies, anti-police posturing, and radical foreign policy rhetoric do not play well with the people who actually live with the consequences.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:03Hey, everybody, I'm Dave AI, and this is First Look. It's Friday, August 7th, 2026. We've got a packed show for you today. Walls closing in on Anthony Fauci as the Senate Homeland Security Committee votes to hold the disgraced former NIAID director in contempt of Congress after he took the fifth more than 100 times. and with his government iPhone now in the hands of another Senate committee, more damaging evidence is coming. New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani gets booed off the stage in under a minute at a pro-police event, the latest sign his radical agenda is tanking his popularity. And rare before and after images from a South Korean lunar orbiter capture a four-ton SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage slamming into the moon at 5 ,400 miles per hour, giving scientists an unprecedented look at how human-made debris scars the lunar surface.

1:08Let's dive in. First up, the walls are closing in on Anthony Fauci. The Senate Homeland Security Committee has voted to hold the disgraced former NIAID director in contempt of Congress. This comes just a week after Fauci appeared under subpoena and refused to answer a single substantive question, invoking his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent more than 100 times across a four-hour hearing. He was hauled in after Senator Rand Paul, who chairs the committee, released a series of diary entries Fauci kept on his government computer during the pandemic. Those entries painted a picture of a man who was manipulative, duplicitous, and obsessed with his own growing fame in the mass media, while millions of Americans suffered under the lockdowns, mask mandates, school closures, and coercive vaccine pressure that Fauci helped engineer.

2:09When senators pressed him on his handling of the pandemic, Fauci simply repeated the same line about following his lawyer's advice. Paul rightly argued that the Fifth Amendment protections should never have applied here. Biden had already granted Fauci a sweeping preemptive pardon in the final days of his failed term, covering anything from 2014 through January 2025. Dr. Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution, Paul said. All he had to do was tell the truth. Paul later noted the contempt resolution on X, making clear it was passed by Republicans on behalf of the millions of Americans and their families still affected years after the COVID pandemic.

3:00According to the New York Post, Thursday's vote opens the door to possible prosecution, something patriots have demanded for years. The resolution gives Senate President J.D. Vance the authority to refer the case to Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Senate Homeland Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, has obtained the government-owned iPhone Fauci used throughout the pandemic. Hopefully, this device will address many of the questions he refused to answer at last week's hearing, Johnson posted on X.

3:43The phone was turned over by the Department of Health and Human Services, now led by RFK Jr., one of Fauci's fiercest and most consistent critics. Paul and Johnson have received even more files they are preparing to make public, and Fauci has also been subpoenaed by the Attorneys General of Florida, West Virginia, and Louisiana, all investigating whether he promulgated health guidance for personal profit. After years of lockdowns, destroyed businesses, learning loss, and excess deaths, accountability is finally arriving. The Biden-era shield is cracking. New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani was booed off the stage this week at a pro-police event in Staten Island, cutting his speech short amid a cascade of jeers that made his radical record impossible to ignore.

4:40Mamdani showed up Tuesday evening to deliver remarks at the NYPD's 43rd Patrol Borough National Night Out Against Crime on the Midland Beach Boardwalk. About 3 ,500 residents turned out. When the mayor was introduced, the crowd erupted in booze. Video captured some shouting profanities and others yelling for him to leave. It is a pleasure to be here, Mamdani began. His words immediately drowned out. Get off our island, one attendee screamed. He quickly thanked the organizers, said congratulations, and exited. The entire speech lasted 43 seconds. Some people later asked for photos, and he obliged, but the overwhelming rejection was unmistakable.

5:27This is only the latest sign that Mamdani's popularity is collapsing. In late July, a man whose wife was killed on September 11th launched a petition to keep the mayor away from New York City's upcoming 25th anniversary September 11th ceremony. Nearly 80 ,000 people have signed. The president of the Catholic League also urged Mamdani to stay away. Mamdani compounded the damage by releasing a list of hundreds of thousands of New York City residents he claims are subject to his new pied -à-terre tax, including some of his own vocal supporters. The stunt triggered widespread outrage. He has also drawn sharp criticism for calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal who should be arrested if he sets foot in New York.

6:17Within days of those remarks, a man was arrested after brazenly stabbing two men on the Upper West Side, an attack many linked directly to the mayor's anti-Israel rhetoric. Staten Island made its feelings clear. Soft on crime policies, anti-police posturing, and radical foreign policy rhetoric do not play well with the people who actually live with the consequences. Finally, a rare scientific window into space debris. South Korea's first lunar orbiter, Denuri, has captured before and after images of a four-ton SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage slamming into the moon. The discarded upper stage struck near the Einstein crater around 2.35 a.m.

7:03Eastern time on Wednesday at roughly 5 ,400 miles per hour. Unlike most previous lunar impacts that were only studied after the fact, Denuri photographed the site both before and after the collision. The spacecraft began imaging about 30 minutes prior and continued afterward, capturing the area eight times total. It had already secured reference images last month. The images show a newly formed dark mark spreading from the impact site along with debris scattered across the surrounding terrain. To get the shots, denuri adjusted its orbit to pass directly over the site while flying about 215 miles above the surface, using its high-resolution lunar terrain imager at roughly 5 meters per pixel.

7:53It also deployed its wide-angle camera to measure changes in surface reflectance and polarization. Scientists will analyze the crater's size and shape, the distribution of ejecta, and changes in reflective and polarimetric properties. The data will help NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter plan follow-up observations and contribute to broader research on lunar geology and impact processes. Korea Aerospace Administration Administrator Oh Tae Suk called the achievement an important foundation for the country's future space exploration strategy. The impact has also focused attention on the growing problem of uncontrolled space debris and the risks it poses to future missions.

8:40Like everything else in the solar system, the rocket stage obeyed Newton's laws, with only minor deviations from forces such as solar wind. Clear before and after imagery like this is invaluable for understanding exactly what happens when large human-made objects hit the lunar surface. And that's your first look this Friday. Quick recap, the Senate moves against Fauci after his Fifth Amendment stonewall and more evidence piles up under RFK Jr.'s HHS. Mamdani gets chased off a Staten Island stage in 43 seconds as his radical record catches up with him. And South Korea's Denuri delivers rare images of a SpaceX rocket stage carving a new scar on the moon.

9:28We'll keep following all of it. I'm Dave AI. Thanks for starting your day with First Look. See you on Monday. Thank you.

From the publisher

Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" gives a first look at the stories you need to know to start your day, including the Senate Homeland Security Committee voting to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times, as Rand Paul pushes for accountability and Ron Johnson obtains Fauci's government-owned iPhone; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani being booed off the stage just 43 seconds into his remarks at a pro-police event in Staten Island as opposition to his radical agenda grows; and South Korea's Danuri lunar orbiter capturing rare before-and-after images of a four-ton SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage crashing into the moon at approximately 5,400 miles per hour; and much more. #rubinreport #fauci #anthonyfauci #randpaul #mamdani #spacex #daverubin

More from The Rubin Report

All 473 episodes
Fauci Faces Possible Prosecution After Taking the 5th; Mamdani Booed Off StageThe Rubin Report · 10 min
Listen in VO