CIA Recruited Fauci To ‘Influence’ Covid Origins Investigation Off The Books, Says House Subcommittee
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) brought in Dr. Anthony Fauci “without a record of entry” to “influence” the agency’s analysis of the origins of Covid-19, according to new information obtained by House Republicans.
In a letter sent to the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, on Tuesday, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic revealed it has acquired information indicating that during his time as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci “was escorted into [CIA] Headquarters—without a record of entry—and participated in the analysis” of the respiratory virus’ origins in order “to ‘influence’ the Agency’s review.”
While Wenstrup’s letter doesn’t specify exactly when this purported incident occurred, it’s no secret that Fauci played a significant role in the left’s coordinated efforts to dismiss the theory that Covid leaked from a Wuhan-based lab as a “conspiracy theory.” In June, for example, Wenstrup’s committee released communications from Dr. David Morens, the NIAID director’s senior scientific adviser, suggesting that Fauci directed Morens to speak with legacy media in an apparent attempt to downplay the lab leak theory.
“But today, to my total surprise, my boss Tony [Fauci] actually ASKED me to speak to the National Geographic on the record about origins,” Morens wrote in a July 29, 2021, email. “I interpret this to mean that our government is lightening up but that Tony doesn’t want his fingerprints on origin stories.”
Fauci also openly dismissed the lab leak theory during several media appearances. As Helen Raleigh noted in these pages, Fauci “dismissed the lab leak theory in April 2020 when asked about it during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing” and again during a May 2020 interview with National Geographic. He also told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in October 2021 that it was “molecularly impossible” that gain-of-function research conducted at a Wuhan lab could have led to the outbreak of Covid.
It’s worth mentioning that during his tenure as NIAID director, Fauci saw his department provide several grants to EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit run by Peter Daszak that previously funneled “funds into the Wuhan Institute of Virology for the bat-based coronaviruses research that is suspected of starting the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In his Tuesday letter, Wenstrup requested the HHS inspector general provide the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic with all documents and communications regarding Fauci’s access to any CIA facilities and agency employees by Oct. 10. The Ohio congressman additionally asked that Special Agent Brett Rowland be made available for a “voluntary” transcribed interview with the committee.
“The American people deserve the truth—to know the origins of the virus and whether there was a concerted effort by public health authorities to suppress the lab leak theory for political or national security purposes,” Wenstrup wrote.
Tuesday’s revelations came two weeks after House Republicans released allegations from a CIA whistleblower claiming that the agency offered “hush money to six CIA analysts who concluded that Covid-19 originated from a lab in Wuhan, China.” According to this “highly credible senior-level CIA officer,” the agency brought in seven analysts to unearth the origins of Covid and six of these analysts “believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low-confidence assessment” that the virus came from a Wuhan-based laboratory.
As The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd reported, this prompted the CIA — which was purportedly unhappy with the analysts’ conclusions — to “allegedly dangle[] ‘financial incentives’ in front of the officers in an attempt to ‘change their conclusion in favor of a zoonotic origin.’”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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