Gabbard accuses Fauci of lying about COVID discussions

Former top U.S. health official Anthony Fauci lied to Congress when asked whether he spoke to any U.S. intelligence agency about research into the COVID-19 virus, outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard argued in a report Thursday. Fauci said while under oath at a 2024 House hearing that the intelligence community had briefed him multiple times during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said on at least one occasion, the focus of the briefing was on activities in various labs . But Gabbard said a yearlong analysis of hundreds of emails and other correspondence showed that Fauci advised intelligence officials on which scientists and papers to trust, shaping their assessments on the origins of the COVID pandemic.

Gabbard further accused Fauci of doing so in order to steer inquiry away from his connections to bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. As head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, he gave millions in U.S. funds for gain-of-function research at the lab, which is now widely viewed as the source of an accidental leak that started the pandemic, Gabbard said. In his advice to intelligence officials, Fauci specifically recommended experts who were funded by his institute and pushed a natural-origin theory of the pandemic, she said.

Did Gabbard accuse intelligence officials of wrongdoing? Whistleblowers who challenged Fauci’s statements on the origins of the pandemic faced consequences during Fauci’s leadership, she said. While she did not say which intelligence officials allegedly retaliated against whistleblowers, she referred those claims to the intelligence community’s inspector general, she said. Examples included:

• A contractor who was fired days after presenting whistleblower evidence to the national intelligence director’s office.

• Managers who told analysts advocating for the lab-leak hypothesis that intelligence leadership would decide who to promote. Gabbard argued that such communication sent a message that disagreement with Fauci’s conclusions would harm careers.

• Senior intelligence leaders allegedly removed whistleblower anonymity.

How has Fauci responded to such criticisms? Previously, Fauci has flatly denied claims that he was less than truthful about the origins of COVID-19. During the 2024 House hearing, he insisted that he seriously reviewed the lab-based origin theory and denied ever trying to manipulate the discussion. He went on to characterize allegations that he used millions of dollars in grant money to bribe scientists to support claims of a natural-based origin for the virus as absolutely false and simply preposterous.

Dig deeper: Read Grace Snell’s report on the surge in violence and misinformation accompanying the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.