US intelligence chief releases declassified COVID-19 records, alleges Fauci misled Congress
Baku, June 19, AZERTAC
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday released newly declassified documents related to the origins of COVID-19, alleging they reveal links between US-funded research, the Wuhan Institute of Virology and actions by former top US health official Anthony Fauci, according to Anadolu Agency.
"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," Gabbard said in a statement accompanying the release.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said the documents include internal communications, whistleblower allegations and intelligence materials related to investigations into the pandemic's origins.
Gabbard also alleged that Fauci "lied to Congress while under oath in 2024."
The ODNI alleged that, while serving as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Fauci participated in discussions related to intelligence reviews of COVID-19's origins, remained in contact with intelligence officials during key stages of the review process, and oversaw funding that supported coronavirus research involving bat viruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The agency further alleged that some of the communications conflict with Fauci's 2024 congressional testimony.
Fauci has repeatedly denied accusations that he misled lawmakers or covered up the origins of COVID-19, calling such claims "preposterous" during a congressional hearing in June 2024.
He has also said both a natural origin and a laboratory accident remain plausible explanations for the virus's emergence, although he believes the available evidence leans toward natural transmission while remaining inconclusive.
US intelligence agencies have not reached a definitive conclusion on whether the virus originated from a laboratory or through natural transmission, and the newly released documents have not been independently verified.
COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020.
The pandemic resulted in millions of deaths worldwide and triggered widespread public health, economic and social disruption.
The origins of the virus remain under investigation, with scientific and intelligence assessments continuing to examine both natural-origin and laboratory-related scenarios without reaching a definitive conclusion.
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