CIA whistleblower and current agency employee James Erdman III told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday that Dr. Anthony Fauci “injected” himself into the intelligence community’s review of COVID-19’s origins and influenced how the CIA handled its assessment of a potential lab leak.
Erdman alleged Fauci played an “intentional” role in the agency’s shift away from a 2021 plan to characterize the virus as having originated from a lab leak following a 90-day review. He said the CIA was “considering calling this a lab leak” on August 12, 2021, before its position changed on August 17, adding the agency has not provided documentation explaining why.
“Dr. Fauci’s role in the cover-up was intentional,” Erdman testified, alleging Fauci influenced the analytical process by steering the intelligence community toward “curated” lists of subject matter experts and scientists, including contacts in the U.S., U.K., and Australia.
Erdman also alleged Fauci had contact with intelligence officials in 2020 and 2021 and raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest tied to research linked to Wuhan. He said those concerns were not raised internally.
