BREAKING NEWS? Fauci & US “Misled” Congress About Covid Lab Origin
When you lose one of the most right-wing columnists at the Wall Street Journal...
On April 15—ironically, tax day—a Wall Street Journal opinion piece excoriated Anthony Fauci and the Biden Administration for “misleading” Congress, the entire federal government, and the public about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which caused a pandemic placing the entire world on pause.
[This image from video provided by Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History shows Anthony Fauci with a model of the Covid-19 virus. PHOTO: /ASSOCIATED PRESS]
Citing a report in the Washington Free Beacon, Mike Gallagher wrote, “The Biden administration unlawfully hid a 2022 report revealing that seven U.S. service members likely contracted Covid-19 at the World Military Games in Wuhan, China, in October 2019—months before the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in March 2020. ... In February [2020], researchers at the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology announced the discovery of a new bat coronavirus that closely resembles Covid. Markets dipped.” (1)
A WSJ contributor, Gallagher is a former Wisconsin Representative and Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Currently, he’s head of defense for Palantir Technologies (a data management and security company).
Gallagher wrote that, post-pandemic declaration, Fauci and others in the federal government should have “come clean” about the “giant mistake” of the “risky” gain-of-function research being conducted in collaboration with US government health agencies, canceled all funding and implemented higher safety standards.
Instead, he asserted, the Chinese Communist Party was allowed to “bleach the crime scene, as Dr. Fauci—along with a cabal of Wuhan Institute collaborators and National Institutes of Health grantees—whitewashed history by insisting for years that the most likely origin of the virus was natural.” Gallagher pointed out that Fauci published a paper stating that the origin of the Covid virus was “natural” less than six months ago. (1)
After blasting the Biden administration and “blue-state Covid tyrants,” Gallagher constructed a plan for preventing the next pandemic. First, he suggested the declassification of all intelligence documents related to the origin of the virus. He also suggested establishing a commission to write new safety standards for dealing with dangerous viruses and other pathogens, with Canadian microbiologist Alina Chan at its helm.
“Lab leaks are shockingly common,” Gallagher pointed out. “In 2004 there were at least two documented leaks of the SARS virus from a top Beijing lab. We can’t afford to allow scientists working with dangerous pathogens in major population centers to police themselves.” (1)
Among other investigations, Gallagher suggested “Attorney General Pam Bondi should issue subpoenas for communications between Dr. Fauci, Francis Collins, Ralph Baric, Peter Daszak, the EcoHealth Alliance, the authors of the disgraced ‘proximal origin’ article that claimed to disprove the lab-leak theory, and others in Dr. Fauci’s circle who helped hide the truth or worked to censor opposing hypotheses.” (1)
Gallagher blasted one and all for not punishing the Chinese Communist Party, asking, “If there are no consequences for a pandemic that killed millions, who will raise a fuss over Chinese incursions into Taiwan?” (1)
“The American media and scientific elite have given us a few mealy-mouthed half-apologies,” Gallagher continued. “They want us to move on. We should refuse. Our friends and loved ones died alone and afraid in hospitals. Our children were locked out of schools. Our churches were closed. Institutional trust can’t be restored without accountability.”
Fauci lied to Congress about NIH funding the gain-of-function research in the Wuhan lab, which, he contended, “sparked the pandemic with US funding.”
“The question of how this pandemic began remains the most important in the world,” Gallagher asserted. “The Trump administration can deliver answers, hold people accountable, and ensure the world learns from its mistakes to prevent a future crisis.” (1)
But can it? As of the present moment, the Trump administration has abandoned the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), retaining one staffer (of 20) and removing OPPR’s website. (2) The HHS Office of Infectious Diseases has been closed. (3) Sweeping firings of thousands of personnel and closings of many labs that investigated infectious diseases make it appear unlikely that the Trump administration is interested in following Gallagher’s suggestions. However, there is plenty of time for that to change, if the administration has the will.
So, what’s next?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Mike Gallagher. “Time for Accountability on the Covid Lab-Leak Coverup: Fauci misled Congress when he denied the NIH funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan.” Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2025.
2. Brenda Goodman. “As bird flu continues to spread, Trump administration sidelines key pandemic preparedness office.” CNN.com, March 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/health/pandemic-preparedness-office-trump-bird-flu/index.html
3. Eric Katz. “Cancer researchers, opioid abuse analysts, infectious disease experts: Layoffs at HHS begin to take shape. Tears and added security greeted employees unexpectedly turned away from their offices Tuesday.” Government Executive, April 1, 2025. https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/04/cancer-researchers-opioid-abuse-analysts-infectious-disease-experts-layoffs-hhs-begin-take-shape/404212/