On her final day in office, outgoing US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard released a collection of declassified documents and communications that, she said, expose Dr. Anthony Fauci’s involvement in key aspects of the COVID-19 origins controversy.
Gabbard accused the former Chief Medical Advisor to the US President, Dr. Fauci, of funding gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, influencing intelligence assessments regarding the origins of COVID-19, and misleading Congress while testifying under oath.
According to her office, the newly declassified materials include previously undisclosed communications demonstrating Fauci’s role in funding coronavirus research in Wuhan as well as 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 Dr. Anthony Fauci, during his tenure as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), channeled millions of dollars in US taxpayer funds to support gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The ODNI further claimed that this research is now widely regarded as the source of the unintentional lab leak that triggered the COVID-19 pandemic. It also alleged that Fauci collaborated with politicised career leadership within the intelligence community to suppress information concerning the virus’s origins and his own 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 further said, “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 through a year-long declassification review conducted as part of President Donald Trump’s transparency initiative. The office also collected testimony from intelligence community whistleblowers, who claimed they faced retaliation for questioning the official assessments on the origins of COVID-19.
The release further stated that Fauci maintained close relationships with intelligence officials and held multiple roles throughout the pandemic, serving simultaneously as a government-funded researcher, an adviser to intelligence agencies, and a leading public spokesperson on pandemic policy.
The ODNI alleged that Dr. Fauci and senior intelligence officials established what it called a “self-serving circular reporting loop,” in which NIAID-funded scientists influenced intelligence community assessments that were subsequently cited publicly as evidence against the lab-leak theory.
The ODNI further claimed that correspondence contained in the newly declassified documents directly contradicts Fauci’s sworn testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2024. When asked under oath whether he had communicated with intelligence agencies regarding viral research before, during, or after the pandemic, Fauci replied, “not to my knowledge about COVID.”
The release also cited whistleblower testimony asserting that intelligence analysts who supported the lab-leak hypothesis suffered professional retaliation, including marginalization, career setbacks, and intimidation. Fauci received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden in the final hours of his administration in January 2025.
