• Source:JND

The outgoing US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has accused Dr Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical advisor to ex-President Joe Biden, of helping fund research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a laboratory that has been at the centre of debates over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What did Gabbard reveal?

On her final day in office on Friday, Gabbard released what she described as "never-before-seen" documents. According to her office, the documents show that Fauci directed millions of dollars in US taxpayer funding towards "dangerous gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses" at the Wuhan lab. They also claim that he worked behind the scenes with selected experts to encourage intelligence agencies to support the theory that COVID-19 originated naturally from animals, rather than from a laboratory leak.

Fauci's role during the pandemic

"These documents expose Fauci's direct role in influencing and manipulating IC (Intelligence Community) assessments on COVID-19 and how Fauci lied to Congress in 2024, when under oath he denied knowledge of or participation in discussions with intelligence officials about viral research," the statement read.

Gabbard's office further claimed that Fauci promoted a "fraudulent paper" and presented it as credible information for intelligence agencies to consider. The statement alleged that some intelligence analysts viewed Fauci as an unbiased expert while overlooking scientists and experts who held different views on the origins of the virus.

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Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, Gabbard said the American public deserved transparency and accountability. "The COVID-19 pandemic caused tremendous hardship and pain for millions of our fellow Americans and for countless people around the world. After years of lies, censorship, and cover-ups, the American people deserve transparency, truth, and accountability," she said.

She also accused Fauci and others of concealing important information. "The tactics used to hide the truth are straight from the deep state playbook: politicised 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," she added.

Fauci misled Congress

According to Gabbard's office, Fauci gave misleading testimony during a congressional hearing in June 2024. The statement said he was repeatedly asked whether he had communicated with agencies such as the FBI, CIA, DIA, or any other US intelligence agency about viral research before, during, or after the pandemic. "Fauci repeatedly dodged the questions before falsely stating, 'Not to my knowledge about COVID'," it said.

The office also cited testimony from whistleblowers, claiming that intelligence analysts who questioned Fauci's conclusions about the origins of COVID-19 faced retaliation, were sidelined, and experienced setbacks in their careers. "This silenced dissent and fostered a culture where truth was sacrificed to conformity and credible evidence was buried," Gabbard's office said.

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