Tulsi Gabbard, on final day as US DNI, alleges Biden’s Top Medical Adviser Fauci funded Wuhan research that sparked COVID-19

Washington DC : Outgoing US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has accused former Chief Medical Advisor to the US President, Dr Anthony Fauci, of funding gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, influencing intelligence assessments on the origins of COVID-19 and misleading Congress under oath. On what she described as her final day in office, Gabbard released a tranche of declassified communications and documents that she said expose Fauci’s role in the controversy.
Announcing the release, Gabbard said the newly declassified material contains previously unseen communications that, according to her office, show Fauci’s involvement in funding coronavirus research in Wuhan and his interactions with intelligence officials during the pandemic. “Today, on my final day as Director of National Intelligence, I’m releasing never-before-seen communications and documents exposing how Dr. Fauci provided millions in US taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, worked with politicized elements within the Intelligence Community to suppress the truth about his actions and hide the virus’ lab-leak origins, and lied to Congress while under oath in 2024. It’s time you know the truth,” Gabbard said.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) alleged that Fauci, while serving as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), directed millions of dollars in US taxpayer funding towards gain-of-function research involving bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The ODNI claimed that the research is “now widely viewed as the source of the unintentional lab leak that sparked the pandemic” and alleged that Fauci worked with “politicised career leadership” within the Intelligence Community to suppress information related to the virus’s origins and his role in funding the research.
“The COVID-19 pandemic caused tremendous hardship and pain for millions of our fellow Americans and for countless people around the world. After years of lies, censorship, and cover ups, the American people deserve transparency, truth, and accountability,” the outgoing DNI said.
She added, “The tactics used to hide the truth are straight from the deep state playbook: politicized self-serving leaders like Dr. Fauci covered up their own wrongdoing and abuses of power, manipulated intelligence, lied to Congress, and undermined a duly elected President by restricting his access to vital facts needed to keep the country safe. It’s time the American people learn the real story.” According to the ODNI, the documents were uncovered during a year-long declassification review undertaken in support of US President Donald Trump’s transparency agenda. The office said it had also gathered testimony from intelligence community whistleblowers who alleged retaliation for challenging official assessments regarding the origins of COVID-19.
The release further claimed that Fauci maintained close ties with intelligence officials and played multiple roles during the pandemic, including as a government-funded researcher, adviser to intelligence agencies and a public spokesperson on pandemic policy. The ODNI alleged that Fauci and senior intelligence officials created what it described as a “self-serving circular reporting loop” in which scientists funded by NIAID influenced intelligence assessments that were later cited publicly as evidence against the lab-leak theory. The ODNI also alleged that correspondence contained in the newly released documents contradicts Fauci’s testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2024.
According to the ODNI, Fauci was asked under oath whether he had communicated with intelligence agencies concerning viral research before, during or after the pandemic and responded, “not to my knowledge about COVID.” The release further cited whistleblower testimony alleging that intelligence analysts who supported the lab-leak hypothesis faced professional consequences, including marginalisation, career setbacks and intimidation. Fauci was issued a pre-emptive pardon by Former President Joe Biden during his final hours in office in January 2025.