CIA Whistleblower Testifies Fauci Influenced Agency's COVID-19 Origins Assessment

James Erdman III, a current CIA officer who previously led an investigation into COVID-19 origins for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that former top health official Anthony Fauci significantly influenced the intelligence community's early assessments.

Erdman stated that CIA analysts initially leaned toward a lab leak as the most likely explanation but shifted after Fauci suggested consulting specific scientists and public-health officials. He told senators under oath that Fauci's role was intentional and involved leveraging his position to curate a list of experts aligned with a natural origin view.

"Dr Fauci’s role in the cover-up was intentional," Erdman said. " — James Erdman III, May 13 2026 (Senate testimony) The hearing occurred on May 13, 2026, and was boycotted by all Democratic members. Fauci, who retired in 2022, did not attend. Sen.

Erdman testified that the CIA withheld records from investigators, retaliated against agency personnel who cooperated, and illegally monitored the phones and computers of members of the Director's Initiatives Group. He said resistance from the CIA and State Department has slowed the declassification of roughly 2,000 documents related to the pandemic's origins.

"The deep state still resists this congressional mandate," Paul said. The 2023 law requiring release of the intelligence community's findings prompted only a partially redacted nine-page summary under the prior administration. A spokesman then stated the agency assessed with low confidence that a research-related origin was more likely than a natural one, while continuing to view both scenarios as plausible.

" She said the committee acted in bad faith by subpoenaing Erdman without notifying the agency, despite having obtained his closed-door testimony previously. The spokeswoman added that the witness was responding to a subpoena rather than appearing voluntarily as a whistleblower.

"As the CIA has already assessed, COVID-19 most likely originated from a lab leak, and efforts to undermine that conclusion are disingenuous," the spokeswoman said. John Ratcliffe, appointed CIA director in 2025, previously stated that intelligence, science and common sense indicate the origins of COVID-19 were a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Erdman also alleged the CIA fired a contractor one day after the individual spoke with investigators. He said ongoing resistance from intelligence agencies and public-health officials is hindering implementation of new restrictions on gain-of-function research.

An executive order issued last year called for such a policy to be released by September 2025, but none has been published. Paul has introduced legislation to require more rigorous independent vetting of gain-of-function research proposals. The whistleblower's testimony highlighted what he described as retaliation against analysts who maintained a lab-leak conclusion, including a middle-of-the-night rewrite that altered the agency's initial findings.

The broader intelligence community assessment released under the prior administration showed four agencies favoring a natural origin, one favoring a lab leak, and three unable to decide. Erdman told the committee that Fauci twice reached out to the intelligence community to promote a natural origin narrative.