On her final day as America's top intelligence official, Tulsi Gabbard levelled some of the most serious allegations yet against former White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci — claiming he channelled millions of dollars in US government funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for research that deliberately made coronaviruses more dangerous, and then systematically suppressed evidence of a lab leak when the pandemic struck.

Gabbard, who served as Director of National Intelligence under President Donald Trump before resigning on May 22, released what she described as classified documents to support her claims. According to her office, the funding went toward so-called gain-of-function research — a category of scientific work in which pathogens are intentionally enhanced in a laboratory setting to study their potential and develop countermeasures. The risk of accidental leakage is considered significant, and the practice has been a subject of fierce debate in the scientific and policy communities.

The central allegation is that bat coronavirus research of this nature was actively underway at the Wuhan lab, and that a leak from that facility triggered the global COVID-19 pandemic. Gabbard claims Fauci not only knew this but worked to conceal it. Her office alleges he commissioned a scientific paper designed to steer official conclusions toward a natural-origin narrative — and that scientists planted in intelligence agencies backed that version of events in formal reports.

Whistleblower accounts cited by Gabbard's office add another layer to the allegations. According to these testimonies, intelligence analysts who pushed back on the natural-origin theory were threatened, harassed, and pushed out of their roles. Gabbard further alleged that Fauci lied while under oath before the US Congress in 2024 — a claim that, if substantiated, would carry serious legal consequences.

Fauci has consistently denied allegations of funding prohibited gain-of-function research and has maintained that the scientific evidence does not conclusively support the lab-leak theory. He has not yet responded publicly to Gabbard's latest disclosures.

Gabbard's resignation came for personal reasons. Her husband is battling a rare form of bone cancer, and she informed President Trump of her decision during a meeting at the Oval Office. In her resignation letter, she thanked Trump and called leading the National Intelligence Office an honour. Under her tenure, 18 US intelligence agencies fell under her oversight.

Born into a Samoan-American family, Gabbard has often been mistakenly described as being of Indian origin. She has clarified on multiple occasions that she is not. Raised initially as a Christian, she later adopted Hinduism — a faith she has spoken about publicly throughout her political career.

The documents released by Gabbard are expected to fuel renewed calls for a formal congressional investigation into the origins of COVID-19. Whether the disclosures lead to any legal proceedings against Fauci remains to be seen.