Outgoing US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released a series of declassified documents and communications, alleging that former White House chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci played a significant role in funding and influencing research connected to the origins of COVID-19. The release was made on what Gabbard described as her final day in office, and she characterised the material as evidence of previously undisclosed interactions within US health and intelligence structures. According to Gabbard, the newly declassified files include communications that suggest Fauci directed millions of dollars in US taxpayer funding toward gain-of-function research conducted at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.

She alleged that this research involved manipulation of bat coronaviruses and has since become central to ongoing debates over whether the pandemic may have originated from a laboratory incident. Gabbard further claimed that Fauci played a role in shaping intelligence assessments during the pandemic by engaging with elements of the US intelligence community. She suggested that these interactions influenced how US agencies evaluated competing theories on COVID-19’s origins, particularly those related to a potential lab-leak scenario versus natural spillover.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), as cited in Gabbard’s release, alleged that substantial US government funding was allocated during Fauci’s tenure as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to research programs at the Wuhan laboratory. The ODNI statement further asserted that some analysts now view such research as a possible source of an accidental laboratory leak that could have triggered the global outbreak. The documents and accompanying statements also include allegations that Fauci misled Congress under oath and coordinated with what Gabbard described as politicised elements within the intelligence community.

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She claimed these actions contributed to the suppression of information regarding the origins of COVID-19 and obscured details about US funding pathways linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Gabbard said the COVID-19 pandemic had caused immense global suffering and argued that the public deserved full transparency regarding its origins. She accused senior officials of withholding critical information and suggested that institutional efforts were made to control the narrative during the early stages of the pandemic response. According to her, the declassification of these materials was intended to provide accountability and clarity on long-standing questions surrounding the virus’s emergence.

The allegations have emerged in the context of continuing global debate over the origins of COVID-19, with competing hypotheses including zoonotic transmission and laboratory-related incidents. While some intelligence assessments and scientific studies have explored multiple possibilities, there is no universally accepted conclusion regarding the exact origin of the virus. The claims presented in the declassified material remain politically and scientifically contentious, and they have not been independently verified in this report. The broader discussion over pandemic origins continues to be a sensitive issue involving public health authorities, intelligence agencies, and international scientific communities.

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