James E. Erdman III, a veteran CIA special operations officer with 20 years of service, told senators that in August 2021 the intelligence community was on the verge of concluding the virus most likely leaked from a lab, according to a report from Modernity.news [1]. Days later, that position reversed, and Erdman alleged Fauci directly intervened to steer the analysis away from the lab-leak conclusion.
Erdman said he led an investigation between March 2025 and April 2026 that exposed a coordinated cover-up involving Fauci, the CIA, and other intelligence agencies, according to the National Pulse [2]. No Senate Democrats attended the hearing, and the CIA did not clear Erdman to testify, according to 100PercentFedUp [3]. Fox News reported the CIA was "not happy" with the proceeding, the article stated.
Erdman testified that Fauci provided interagency investigators with a "curated list" of experts that mirrored the authors of a 2020 Nature Medicine paper used to refute the lab-leak theory, according to a summary of the testimony published on BrightLearn.ai [4]. The book "The Fauci Files" describes how Fauci allegedly injected a 'conflicted list' of experts into intelligence deliberations, swaying the CIA from an early 5-to-1 consensus for a lab incident to a neutral stance [4].
Separately, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, alleged in a September 2023 letter that Fauci was secretly escorted into CIA headquarters "without a record of entry" to influence the agency's COVID-19 origins investigation, according to Children's Health Defense [5] and NaturalNews.com [6]. Wenstrup stated in the letter that his committee received information suggesting the visit was an effort to "influence" the intelligence assessment [5].
Erdman testified that CIA managers retaliated against analysts who supported the lab-leak hypothesis, including monitoring computer and phone usage of personnel in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to LifeSiteNews [7]. At least one CIA contractor was fired one day after meeting with the intelligence community's whistleblower office, Erdman said [7].
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Congress received only five partially redacted pages in response to a 2023 bill demanding COVID-19 origin documents, calling it a cover-up, according to Children's Health Defense [8]. Hawley co-sponsored a bill passed unanimously by the Senate in 2023 to declassify all intelligence related to COVID-19 origins, but the administration failed to comply, the report stated [8].
Erdman's testimony highlighted that scientists on the Biological Security and Engineering Group, which included University of North Carolina researcher Ralph Baric, helped rewrite definitions of gain-of-function research in 2015 to lift a funding pause, according to reports from Brownstone Institute [9] and RealClearInvestigations via ZeroHedge [10]. Baric, a leading coronavirus scientist, later worked with Wuhan Institute of Virology researcher Shi Zhengli on gain-of-function experiments, the reports noted [9][10].
Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told lawmakers he had "no doubt" the National Institutes of Health and Fauci funded gain-of-function research that likely created COVID-19, according to Children's Health Defense [11]. A key bioweapons official, Dr. Robert Kadlec, publicly accused Fauci of "denial and deception" on COVID-19 origins, alleging that officials knew the virus likely originated in a lab but used classic 'information operations' tactics to protect their careers and funding, according to an interview published by Children's Health Defense [12].
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) cited Erdman's testimony as support for the Risky Research Review Act, a bill to reform gain-of-function research funding, according to the National Pulse [2]. Meanwhile, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) called for a new Church Committee-style investigation into CIA wrongdoing, according to LifeSiteNews [7]. Erdman expressed support for President Donald Trump's executive order pausing gain-of-function research and urged a return to pre-9/11 definitions, the testimony summary said [4].
In a related development, the Department of Justice announced on April 28, 2026, that David M. Morens, a former senior adviser to Fauci, was indicted on charges including conspiracy against the United States and falsification of records in connection with the COVID-19 origins cover-up, according to ZeroHedge [13] and LifeSiteNews [14]. The indictment was the first criminal charge related to the suppression of lab-leak evidence, the reports stated.