Fauci influenced Covid-19 intelligence findings, concealed Wuhan ties: Tulsi Gabbard

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci of helping fund coronavirus research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and of influencing US intelligence assessments on the origins of Covid-19.

In a document release published on June 18, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said Fauci, while leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, provided “millions in US taxpayer dollars” for gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses in Wuhan and that newly released communications and records show efforts to suppress information about the virus’s origins.

The office also said the materials were produced after a yearlong declassification review carried out under President Donald Trump’s transparency mandate.

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The curtain is drawn back, or so they contend

Gabbard said the disclosures show how Fauci worked with “politicized career leadership” in the intelligence community to suppress the truth about his actions, the lab-leak theory, and US funding for the work.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused tremendous hardship and pain for millions of our fellow Americans and for countless people around the world,” she said in the ODNI statement, adding that “the American people deserve transparency, truth, and accountability.”

She also said, “It’s time the American people learn the real story.” The ODNI said the release includes testimony from intelligence community whistleblowers who claimed they faced retaliation for questioning official conclusions about the pandemic’s origins.

The agency further said Fauci had a “direct role” in influencing and manipulating intelligence assessments on Covid-19, while the release framed his actions as part of a wider effort to protect a preferred narrative around the pandemic’s origin.

Under oath and under scrutiny

The documents also allege that Fauci lied to Congress in 2024 when he denied knowing of or taking part in discussions with intelligence officials about viral research.

Fauci was asked under oath whether he had communicated with intelligence agencies about the matter and replied, "Not to my knowledge about Covid.” The release casts those exchanges as evidence of a “self-serving circular reporting loop” in which scientists funded by NIAID helped shape assessments later cited publicly against the lab-leak theory.

The claims are politically charged and are being advanced by Gabbard’s office as conclusions drawn from newly declassified material, rather than as findings from an independent investigative body.

The ODNI release also says the materials were gathered through a process that included accounts from whistleblowers who alleged retaliation after challenging the official line.

Yesterday's disputes, today's headlines

The release comes against a backdrop of long-running political conflict over Fauci’s role in the pandemic response and the search for Covid-19’s origins.

Fauci received a pre-emptive pardon from Joe Biden in January 2025, with Biden saying, “These are exceptional circumstances,” while adding that the pardons should not be read as an admission of wrongdoing.

Donald Trump revoked Fauci’s government-funded security detail in January 2025, arguing that security protection for former officials cannot last forever. Fauci, who led US infectious disease policy for decades, has repeatedly faced criticism from conservative lawmakers and activists over the pandemic response and the virus-origin debate.

The latest ODNI release places those disputes back in the spotlight, with Gabbard presenting the newly declassified records as evidence of wrongdoing and concealment.

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FAQs

Q1: What did Tulsi Gabbard accuse Anthony Fauci of?

Ans: Gabbard alleged that Fauci funded coronavirus research linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and influenced intelligence assessments on Covid-19's origins.

Q2: What do the newly declassified Covid-19 documents claim?

Ans: According to the ODNI, the documents suggest efforts to shape public and intelligence narratives surrounding the origins of Covid-19.