5 highlights from Tulsi Gabbard's release of Fauci, COVID-19 documents: 'Straight from the deep state playbook'
4. Whistleblowers: 'The message was clear'
Documents in the release included internal discussions over an August 2021 whistleblower complaint alleging Fauci provided false testimony that year to Congress when he claimed NIH "has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology."
Internal emails, such as one from then-Acting Inspector General for the Intelligence Community Tamara Johnson, show officials discussing the complaint, which they determined did not meet the "urgent concern standard," referring it to then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra rather than the HHS inspector general.
As noted in a review by CNN, the documents reveal unclear internal discussions that open the door for critics "to make an argument that a referral to a political figure like a Cabinet secretary was tantamount to burying the complaint," but that they do not provide evidence that Fauci himself played a role in getting the intelligence community to refer the complaint to Becerra.
In its summary statement, the ODNI suggested Fauci was shielded from whistleblower complaints, citing multiple intelligence community whistleblowers who described an atmosphere of intimidation and retaliation against analysts who advocated the lab-leak hypothesis or challenged prevailing assessments.
They offered examples of a contractor being terminated days after coming forward, managers reminding analysts that "leadership would determine which analysts would be promoted," and senior leaders allegedly removing anonymity protections or requiring managers and attorneys to attend meetings.
"The message was clear: disagreement with the manipulated finding would derail careers," Gabbard said.
