Tulsi Gabbard Alleges Fauci Misled on COVID-19 Origins, Congress

Anthony Fauci used his position as the leading Covid-19 adviser under two US administrations to steer scrutiny away from the so-called lab leak theory and protect himself from possible accountability, outgoing US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has alleged. She claimed the effort included perjury before the US Congress.

The accusations stem from Fauci’s tenure as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the agency’s funding of gain-of-function research, including work conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The lab leak theory holds that a bat coronavirus altered to infect humans escaped from the Chinese facility and triggered the Covid-19 pandemic. A competing explanation is that SARS-CoV-2 emerged naturally, possibly spreading through a live animal market in Wuhan.

On Friday, her final day in office, Gabbard released hundreds of pages of documents related to the investigation into the disease’s origins and what she described as Fauci’s influence on the US intelligence community. Some of the materials are not classified and were available to the public before the release.

Fauci was “the behind-the-scenes advisor” who together with “his hand-picked so-called experts,” pushed the intelligence community to back the theory of a natural animal origin, Gabbard said. She alleged that his goal was to avoid scrutiny over “dangerous gain-of-function coronavirus research linked to big pharma and their pursuit of universal vaccines worth trillions of dollars.” As one of the most prominent public voices on Covid-19, Fauci allegedly “publicly pushed lies, disinformation, and censorship using every platform available,” she added.

According to Gabbard, the alleged perjury took place in July 2024, when Fauci “denied knowledge of or participation in discussions with intelligence officials about viral research” relevant to Covid-19. Fauci told lawmakers that he had been “briefed” by intelligence agencies on the pandemic, but said his “discussions” were limited to separate cases involving possible terrorist use of biological weapons.

Gabbard also accused Fauci of “creating an atmosphere of intimidation” against supporters of the lab leak theory and whistleblowers who contacted her office. She described the tactics as “straight from the deep state playbook” and called Fauci a “politicized self-serving leader.”

The pandemic began during Donald Trump’s first term, while the vaccination campaign was carried out under President Joe Biden. Republican critics accused the Biden administration of suppressing debate about Covid-19 and pressuring the media in an effort to boost compliance with policies intended to contain the disease. Fauci himself became a politically polarizing figure, with Democrat-leaning outlets presenting him as a foil to Trump.

Last week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released documents related to US-funded biolabs operating in Ukraine, some of which were involved in gain-of-function research, according to Gabbard. Russia and other countries have previously accused Washington of effectively funding bioweapons research under the guise of epidemic prevention, arguing that the use of foreign facilities allows the US to bypass domestic restrictions on virus weaponization.