Gabbard Releases New Covid Documents Involving Fauci

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released newly declassified documents that she says show former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci influenced intelligence assessments on the origins of Covid-19 and later denied such contacts under oath before Congress.

The release by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to reexamine the origins of the pandemic and the role played by U.S. government agencies, scientists and intelligence officials during the global health crisis.

According to Gabbard, the documents show that Fauci interacted with intelligence officials as debates intensified over whether the virus emerged naturally or from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused tremendous hardship and pain for millions of our fellow Americans and for countless people around the world,” Gabbard said. “After years of lies, censorship, and cover ups, the American people deserve transparency, truth, and accountability.”

She further alleged that “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.”

ODNI said it conducted a year-long declassification review under President Donald Trump’s transparency directive and gathered testimony from intelligence community whistleblowers who alleged retaliation for challenging official assessments on the virus’s origins.

The ODNI said Fauci recommended experts who were later consulted by intelligence agencies during Covid-19 origin reviews.

One July 2021 intelligence community email cited in the release stated that officials wanted to follow up on Fauci’s suggestions because he was viewed as “a SME with a wealth of knowledge about current and historical research who probably knows better than most who the real Coronavirus experts are.”

ODNI further noted that in his 2024 testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Fauci denied knowledge of discussions with intelligence agencies concerning viral research. The newly released documents, according to the agency, show multiple interactions involving intelligence officials and Covid-origin inquiries.

Among the declassified material is an August 2021 communication from the Intelligence Community Inspector General’s office referring to a whistleblower complaint alleging that Fauci provided “false testimony to Congress related to the conduct of gain of function research at the National Institutes of Health, thereby ‘misleading the American people and Congressional oversight.’”

The release also includes whistleblower allegations that intelligence analysts who supported the lab-leak hypothesis faced professional retaliation, were marginalized, or were discouraged from expressing dissenting views. Gabbard said several of those complaints have been referred to the Intelligence Community Inspector General for further review. (IANS)