DNI Gabbard Releases Declassified Documents Alleging Fauci Suppressed Lab-Leak Findings

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified communications and intelligence assessments alleging that Dr. Anthony Fauci, as NIAID director, funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology via EcoHealth Alliance grants and worked with career Intelligence Community leadership to suppress internal findings favoring a lab-related origin. The disclosure, made days before Gabbard's departure from the administration, drew immediate pushback: independent reviews of the documents noted the Intelligence Community had in fact consulted analysts who disputed the lab-leak view, and that the released materials fall short of proving Gabbard's central claim. The FBI and Department of Energy continue to favor a lab-related explanation (low-to-moderate confidence), while other agencies and the National Intelligence Council still assess natural spillover as more likely.