A CIA whistleblower told senators that internal intelligence assessments pointing to a lab leak as the most likely origin of COVID-19 were repeatedly sidelined by the Biden administration, raising new questions about how the government handled early conclusions about the pandemic.

Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, James Erdman III — a veteran CIA officer with more than 20 years of experience — alleged that key findings from agency scientists were excluded from official reports and never shared with Congress.

Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul said Erdman came forward despite significant personal risk, emphasizing the importance of transparency.

“According to his testimony, CIA scientific analysts concluded multiple times between 2021 and 2023 that a lab leak was the most likely origin of COVID-19,” Paul said in his opening statement. “Yet those conclusions never shaped the official narrative, never made the intelligence report. Congress was never told.”

Paul further claimed that the timing of a later CIA assessment raised concerns about political motivations.

“It was not until after the 2024 election that the outgoing Biden administration directed the CIA to issue an assessment, not because of new intelligence, but so officials could walk out of the door claiming there was nothing left to find,” he said. “That is not analysis. That is a cleanup operation.”

Erdman appeared publicly despite objections from the CIA, which criticized the hearing as politically driven. Agency spokeswoman Liz Lyons said lawmakers acted improperly in compelling the testimony.

“The witness testifying today is not appearing as a whistleblower in pursuit of the truth, but instead in response to the subpoena issued by Chairman Paul,” Lyons said.

Erdman’s attorney, Carol Thompson, said her client had concerns about possible retaliation but declined to elaborate further.

During the hearing, Erdman also pointed to the role of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci in shaping internal discussions about the virus’s origins.

“It was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci, injecting himself into the IC [intelligence community],” Erdman said when asked whether the CIA minimized the possibility of a lab leak.

His testimony prompted calls from several Republican lawmakers for criminal action against Fauci.

“We just heard testimony that he intervened behind the scenes to try and get our own intelligence agency, CIA, FBI to change their assessment of the lab leak,” Sen. Josh Hawley said. “Why? Because he helped fund the Wuhan lab. He supported and funded gain-of-function research, and then he tried to cover it up, and then he worked to cover it up from the American people.”

“I hope he’s indicted,” Hawley added.

The hearing came shortly after the statute of limitations for certain potential charges related to Fauci’s prior testimony expired, though Paul signaled he intends to continue pursuing the matter.

“I’ve sent several criminal referrals on Anthony Fauci to the Justice Department,” Paul said. “And I hope they will be pursued at this time.”

Paul has long argued that Fauci misled Congress regarding research connected to Wuhan, an allegation Fauci has denied.

Former President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon for Fauci near the end of his term, though President Donald Trump has said the pardon is invalid due to how it was signed. That claim has not yet been tested in court.

Separately, a former Fauci adviser, Dr. David Morens, was recently indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations tied to concealing information about the origins of the pandemic.

Tensions also flared between Republican senators and the CIA during the hearing, particularly over the agency’s characterization of the proceedings.

“This proceeding amounts to nothing more than dishonest political theater masquerading as a congressional hearing,” Lyons said in a statement.

Sen. Ron Johnson sharply rejected that assessment.

“This is not political theater,” Johnson said. “I have years and years and years of built-up frustration of agencies like the CIA, Department of Justice, the FBI, HHS snubbing our oversight, giving us the big middle finger.”

Paul also defended holding the hearing in public, arguing transparency is essential.

“Closed-door testimony doesn’t provide oversight. Public testimony provides oversight,” he said.

Democratic members of the committee did not attend the hearing, drawing criticism from Republicans who said the absence undermined the seriousness of the issue.

“Nothing shocks me anymore with our colleagues from the other side of the aisle, but I’m shocked that not one of them showed up here,” Johnson said.

“This is serious oversight work,” he added. “This is what the American people need to see. And I just wish our Democrat colleagues had any level of curiosity about what’s happening inside the deep state.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno argued that Democrats avoided the hearing to sidestep accountability for pandemic-era decisions.

“This isn’t about politics, but somehow it’s become about politics because the Democrats don’t even want to hear the conversation about what obviously was a grave error that this country made during COVID,” Moreno said. “There’s never been a situation, certainly not in my lifetime, where you had decisions made that affected generations of Americans, kids that were absolutely deprived of their childhood, businesses that were destroyed, families that were torn apart, memories that you’ll never get back, trillions of dollars of economic loss.”

Erdman also accused the CIA of obstructing the investigation into COVID-19’s origins and retaliating against those involved.

“The CIA did not comply with lawful oversight during the DIG’s investigation,” he testified. “The CIA refused to provide information necessary to understand why analytic standards at the CIA were violated.”

He further alleged that agency officials monitored communications involving investigators and whistleblowers.

“These were Americans being spied upon illegally while executing duties directed by the president and under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence,” Erdman said.

According to his testimony, at least one contractor who cooperated with the investigation was dismissed.

Thompson said she hopes the public testimony will encourage others to come forward.

“There has been obstruction by those intelligence agencies, precluding those individuals from being able to conduct the investigation,” she said.

Hawley echoed those concerns, warning about broader implications.

“We have basically a systematic effort to violate the laws of Congress, to lie to the American people, to mislead the American people. And it’s still going on,” he said. “If you’ve got people who will just not follow the laws of Congress and lie openly to the American people, I don’t know how you can hope to preserve our country.”

{Matzav.com}