Photo: Alamy
In one of her final actions as director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard released a collection of declassified documents that raises new questions about former federal health official Anthony Fauci and his involvement in discussions surrounding research conducted at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Gabbard announced the release on Thursday, arguing that the documents provide evidence that Fauci participated in intelligence briefings and discussions related to the origins of COVID-19 and research activities at the Wuhan laboratory.
“The COVID-19 pandemic caused tremendous hardship and pain for millions of our fellow Americans and for countless people around the world,” Gabbard said in a statement. She added that the public deserves “transparency, truth, and accountability” regarding the government’s handling of pandemic-related information.
According to Gabbard’s office, the documents show that Fauci met with intelligence officials, including CIA personnel, in June 2021 to discuss research activities at the Wuhan laboratory. The records indicate Fauci asked questions about experiments involving pangolins and coronaviruses conducted at the facility.
The release focuses in part on previous congressional testimony in which Fauci stated that, to his knowledge, the National Institutes of Health did not fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab. Gabbard’s office contends the newly released material contradicts aspects of Fauci’s public statements and congressional testimony regarding his knowledge of intelligence discussions and laboratory research.
The documents also reference NIH-funded research conducted through the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, which collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on coronavirus studies prior to the pandemic.
Fauci has long maintained that the most likely origin of COVID-19 was a natural spillover event involving animals, though debates over the possibility of a laboratory leak have continued for years among scientists, intelligence agencies, and policymakers.
Gabbard’s office argued that the documents reveal a broader effort by government officials to shape public understanding of the pandemic’s origins and to downplay questions about laboratory research in Wuhan.
The release comes as Gabbard prepares to leave office to care for her husband, Abraham, who is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer.