Pray for Peace. War is evil. War is crazy. Pray f on Nostr: Tulsi Gabbard’s office released the ODNI declassification page on June 18, 2026, ...

Tulsi Gabbard’s office released the ODNI declassification page on June 18, 2026, and the official press release includes a “HERE” link to the documents. [washingtontimes](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/19/tulsi-gabbard-fauci-lied-congress-directed-wuhan-research-funding/)

**Official link**
- ODNI press release: [Fauci Funded Wuhan Lab Research That Sparked COVID](https://www.odni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2026/4166-pr-11-26) [washingtontimes](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/19/tulsi-gabbard-fauci-lied-congress-directed-wuhan-research-funding/)

**What the release says**
- It claims the files show Fauci funded Wuhan research, manipulated intelligence, and lied to Congress. [washingtontimes](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/19/tulsi-gabbard-fauci-lied-congress-directed-wuhan-research-funding/)
- It also says the documents came from a yearlong declassification review and includes whistleblower allegations. [washingtontimes](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/19/tulsi-gabbard-fauci-lied-congress-directed-wuhan-research-funding/)

**Helpful note**
- The press release’s inline “HERE” link is the main gateway for the records, but the page text I could access does not expose the underlying file list itself. [washingtontimes](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/19/tulsi-gabbard-fauci-lied-congress-directed-wuhan-research-funding/)

Would you like me to pull out the main document themes from the release and separate the claims from what is actually documented?

# An Analysis of the Gabbard-Released ODNI Documents on COVID-19 Origins

On June 18, 2026, outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a tranche of declassified documents through the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), alleging that Dr. Anthony Fauci funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, manipulated intelligence assessments, and lied to Congress . The release, framed as part of President Trump's "maximum transparency mandate," has reignited political debate over the origins of COVID-19 and the handling of pandemic-era information . However, a careful examination of what the documents actually contain—as opposed to what Gabbard's office claims they prove—reveals a significant gap between political rhetoric and evidentiary substance.

## The Official Narrative and Its Claims

The ODNI press release, headlined "Fauci Funded Wuhan Lab Research That Sparked COVID," makes several specific allegations . According to the agency's statement, the documents show that Fauci "provided millions in US taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab" and "worked with politicized career leadership in the Intelligence Community (IC) to suppress the truth about his actions and the virus' lab-leak origins" . Gabbard further alleged that Fauci "lied to Congress while under oath in 2024" when he denied knowledge of discussions with intelligence officials about viral research .

The release also includes whistleblower allegations claiming that intelligence analysts who supported the lab-leak hypothesis faced professional retaliation, including marginalization and career setbacks . These allegations have been referred to the Intelligence Community Inspector General for review .

## What the Documents Actually Demonstrate

Independent analysis of the released files paints a substantially more nuanced picture. CNN's review of the documents concluded that they "fall far short of corroborating various Gabbard claims about Fauci" . Notably, the documents contain "nothing remotely resembling proof" that Fauci funded research that sparked COVID-19, despite the bolded headline on the ODNI website .

The first document in the release is a heavily redacted May 2020 analysis from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which assessed that the Wuhan Institute of Virology had the capabilities and materials necessary for a laboratory-origin scenario . However, this same analysis placed "equal weight" on the theory that COVID-19 came from a lab modification as it did on natural virus outbreak or lab leak of a naturally-occurring virus . Moreover, internal emails included in the release show that other officials questioned the analysis's key claims. A 2023 email from a redacted official argued that the May 2020 analysis "doesn't substantiate its key claim" and noted that "we do not now, nor did we back in 2020, have ANY reporting suggesting [Wuhan Institute of Virology]" had access to a potential precursor virus . A September 2020 email similarly stated that "we do not see compelling evidence that China deliberately manufactured this virus" and acknowledged there was "no [intelligence community] consensus" on the origin question .

The documents also include material related to a whistleblower complaint alleging Fauci had lied to Congress in 2021 when he stated that the NIH "has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology." Here again, the documents do not show Fauci working to suppress the complaint. Instead, they reveal internal discussions about referral procedures, with officials noting that the complaint was not about an intelligence community matter and that there would be "no merit" in referring it to the inspector general who oversees health entities . A referral was eventually made to then-Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, but critics and defenders can reasonably debate whether this constituted proper handling versus an attempt to bury the issue .

## The 2024 Congressional Testimony Question

Perhaps the most contested claim concerns Fauci's 2024 testimony. Gabbard alleges the documents prove he lied when asked whether he had spoken to any intelligence agency "concerning viral research." However, the actual hearing transcript reveals a convoluted exchange where Fauci's disputed words—"Not to my knowledge about Covid"—came at the end of a confusing multi-part question . The final question did not use the words "concerning viral research," and Fauci had been discussing two-decade-old conversations about anthrax and bioweapons immediately prior . This context makes it far from clear that Fauci intentionally misled Congress .

## Context and Credibility Concerns

The release comes amid broader concerns about Gabbard's use of intelligence for political purposes. Just a week earlier, on June 12, 2026, Gabbard had released documents claiming to expose a network of 120 U.S.-funded biolabs, including 40 in Ukraine. Critics noted that the "evidence" consisted of four slides, with the last two taken directly from a Russian disinformation briefing . Former Department of Defense biodefense official Al Mauroni called that release a "nothing burger," and Ukrainian officials issued formal denials .

This pattern has raised questions about whether Gabbard is using her position to advance politically motivated narratives rather than provide objective intelligence. The Pandora Report, a biosecurity publication, characterized Gabbard's actions as "promotion of Russian biolab disinformation" and noted that Russian state media eagerly amplified her allegations .

## Intelligence Community Consensus Remains Elusive

Despite the document release, U.S. intelligence agencies have not reached a definitive conclusion on COVID-19's origins. Different agencies continue to hold varying assessments, with no consensus on whether the virus emerged through natural transmission or a laboratory incident . The released documents, while providing material for debate, do not resolve this fundamental uncertainty. Fauci himself has consistently maintained that both scenarios remain plausible, though he has expressed a personal belief that the available evidence leans toward natural transmission .

## Conclusion

The documents released by Tulsi Gabbard on June 18, 2026, represent a significant declassification effort that will undoubtedly fuel ongoing political debates about the COVID-19 pandemic's origins and the role of key figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci. However, independent analysis suggests the documents do not prove the dramatic allegations made in the ODNI press release. They contain internal disagreements, acknowledge the absence of consensus within the intelligence community, and fail to establish direct causation between Fauci's funding decisions and the pandemic's emergence. While they raise legitimate questions about the handling of whistleblower complaints and the influence of scientific advisors on intelligence assessments, they fall far short of demonstrating the "lies, censorship, and cover-ups" Gabbard alleges . The American public deserves transparency and accountability, but also a clear-eyed assessment of what declassified documents actually reveal—versus what political actors claim they reveal.

Based on the records from that time, the core facts about the pre-2020 funding are clear, even though its exact scientific classification remains a point of intense dispute.

### 💰 The Funding: What It Was and Who Paid

The U.S. funding in question was not a direct payment to the Wuhan lab itself. Instead, it was part of a broader scientific collaboration.

* **The Grant and the Recipient:** In 2014, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $3.7 million grant to **EcoHealth Alliance**, a U.S.-based non-profit research group . This grant was for a project titled "Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence" .
* **The Subcontract:** As part of this project, EcoHealth Alliance distributed a subcontract worth approximately **$600,000** to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) . This funding was approved by the NIH and was for a five-year period between 2014 and 2019 .

Dr. Anthony Fauci, as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the NIH, oversaw this funding . He described it as "a modest collaboration with very respectable Chinese scientists who were world experts on coronavirus," aimed at studying how coronaviruses are transmitted from bats to humans .

### 🔬 The Core Disagreement: Was It "Gain-of-Function"?

The key debate, which was at the center of Fauci's clashes with Senator Rand Paul and others, is whether this research constituted "gain-of-function" (GOF). This term refers to research that could make a pathogen more transmissible or dangerous to humans . The public records show two opposing views:

* **The Critics' View:** Critics, including molecular biologist Richard Ebright, argue that the research **was** gain-of-function. They point to published scientific papers from 2015 and 2017 that resulted from this collaboration, which involved altering bat coronaviruses to study their potential to infect human cells . They contend this fits the definition of GOF research that the U.S. government paused in 2014 over safety concerns .

* **The Defenders' View:** Fauci, the NIH, and EcoHealth Alliance have consistently denied that the funded work was gain-of-function. They state that the goal was to **characterize** naturally occurring viruses at a molecular level, not to enhance them . Fauci explicitly told Congress, "The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute" . Other scientists have noted that the research was on naturally occurring viruses and didn't have a "reasonable expectation" of increasing transmissibility or pathogenicity, thus falling outside the 2014 moratorium .

### 📜 A Timeline of Key Events

* **2014:** NIH awards the $3.7 million grant to EcoHealth Alliance .
* **2015 & 2017:** Scientific papers are published detailing the collaborative bat coronavirus research .
* **2019:** The project is renewed for another five years .
* **April 2020:** The Trump administration cancels the grant .
* **May 2021:** Fauci and Senator Rand Paul clash in a Senate hearing over whether this funding was for "gain-of-function" research .

In summary, the pre-2020 records show that the U.S., through an NIH grant administered by Dr. Fauci's agency, provided funding for bat coronavirus research. A portion of that money was subcontracted to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Whether this research crossed the line into the controversial "gain-of-function" category is the central question that remains unresolved, with credible scientific arguments on both sides.
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