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Tulsi Gabbard unveils COVID records
New Delhi: In a dramatic development that has reignited the debate over the origins of COVID-19, former United States Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has released a set of documents she describes as “never-before-seen,” alleging that former top US health official Dr. Anthony Fauci approved funding for controversial coronavirus research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology and played a role in shaping public narratives about the pandemic's origins.
Sharing a video message on social media platform X, Gabbard said, “It’s time you know the truth,” as she unveiled the documents on her final day as DNI.
Today, on my final day as Director of National Intelligence, I’m releasing never-before-seen communications and documents exposing how Dr. Fauci provided millions in US taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab, worked with politicized elements… pic.twitter.com/ZMdliW4zyS
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) June 19, 2026
At the center of Gabbard’s allegations is Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and later as Chief Medical Adviser to former US President Joe Biden.
According to Gabbard, the newly released files indicate that millions of dollars in US taxpayer funds were directed toward research involving bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. She alleges that the funding supported gain-of-function research-scientific experiments designed to modify viruses to better understand how they might become more infectious or transmissible.
Gabbard claimed the documents suggest that US-backed research activities may have been connected to events that eventually led to the global COVID-19 outbreak.
The former intelligence chief further accused Fauci and others of orchestrating a coordinated effort to steer public understanding of the pandemic’s origins.
Funding gain-of-function research linked to the Wuhan laboratory.
Influencing scientific and intelligence assessments toward a natural-origin explanation for COVID-19.
Marginalizing, censoring, or dismissing alternative theories, including the possibility of a laboratory leak.
She alleged that Fauci used his influence to promote what she described as misleading narratives while suppressing dissenting viewpoints.
Gabbard also cited testimony from whistleblowers who reportedly told her office that intelligence analysts faced pressure when questioning official conclusions regarding COVID-19's origins.
According to her, some analysts were discouraged from supporting the lab-leak theory, while others feared professional repercussions for challenging prevailing assessments. She described the alleged actions as an effort to suppress dissent and control the public narrative surrounding the pandemic.
While Gabbard characterized the files as groundbreaking, many of the topics raised have been publicly debated for years. Previous reports have documented US-linked funding connected to research projects associated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and Fauci’s role in discussions surrounding the virus’s origins has long been a subject of political controversy in Washington.
A review of the released materials reportedly reveals internal communications and emails among intelligence officials. However, significant portions of the documents remain redacted, and critics argue that the files do not provide definitive evidence of a deliberate cover-up or direct proof linking the research to the emergence of COVID-19.
More than six years after the pandemic began, the origins of COVID-19 remain unresolved. Many scientists continue to believe the virus likely emerged through a natural animal-to-human transmission pathway, possibly linked to wildlife markets in Wuhan.
Others maintain that an accidental laboratory leak remains a plausible scenario that warrants further investigation. Several US government agencies have, over time, expressed varying degrees of confidence in the lab-leak hypothesis, but no international consensus has been reached.
Gabbard’s latest disclosures are expected to intensify political and scientific debate over one of the most consequential public health crises in modern history.
