Sen. Rand Paul said Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to testify voluntarily before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, prompting the panel to issue a subpoena.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been subpoenaed to testify publicly before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee next month as lawmakers examine newly declassified documents related to the federal government’s handling of COVID-19 origins investigations.
Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced the subpoena after Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, declined to appear voluntarily.
“Last week, Anthony Fauci notified us that he will not voluntarily testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, even though he had previously agreed to do so,” Paul wrote on X. “Therefore, today we have issued a subpoena for him to publicly testify.”
The subpoena follows the release of documents by then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office said the materials raise questions about Fauci’s prior sworn testimony to Congress. Supporters of the subpoena say the documents suggest Fauci may have misled lawmakers about his communications with intelligence officials during inquiries into the origins of COVID-19.
According to records released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Fauci briefed intelligence officials and recommended experts who supported the theory that COVID-19 emerged naturally rather than from a laboratory.
Fauci testified before Congress in 2024 that he had no knowledge of discussions with intelligence agencies involving virus research and the origins of COVID-19.
Gabbard said the declassified materials indicate that Fauci worked with intelligence officials and government insiders as public explanations of the pandemic’s origins were being shaped.
“The American people deserve transparency, truth, and accountability,” Gabbard said in a statement.
Gabbard accused Fauci and other officials of “manipulating intelligence” and “lying to Congress.”
The documents were released as part of a broader declassification review carried out under President Donald Trump’s transparency initiative. Gabbard’s office said whistleblowers also provided testimony alleging that intelligence analysts who questioned the natural-origin theory faced retaliation and career consequences.
The subpoena is also expected to revive questions about U.S. funding for coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
Fauci and Paul repeatedly clashed during Senate hearings over whether federal funds supported gain-of-function research at the Wuhan facility. Fauci denied that U.S. funding backed risky experimentation there, while critics have argued that federal support was connected to research they view as gain-of-function.
The Epoch Times reported that the declassified intelligence records show Fauci recommended experts, including scientists associated with the “Proximal Origin” paper, which concluded that COVID-19 most likely emerged naturally.
Critics have alleged that Fauci and former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins helped shape the paper behind the scenes, though neither was listed as an author.
Fauci has not publicly responded to the subpoena.
The public testimony is expected to focus on Fauci’s communications with intelligence agencies, U.S. funding of coronavirus research, the origins of COVID-19 and whether federal officials accurately represented their roles in shaping the government’s public position on the pandemic.
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