The Swamp is alive and well, for now. But how deep it all runs is further than most expected.
And now a US Senator exposed a massive government cover-up that could change everything.
The federal government is sitting on a mountain of documents about high-risk gain-of-function biological research, but according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), it’s refusing to make them public—even though they could hold the key to understanding the origins of COVID-19.
“What we’ve discovered is there’s a treasure trove of information about dangerous research all collected, sitting in one spot,” Paul told *The Post* in an exclusive interview.
Paul believes these files could reveal critical details about how COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China, and whether U.S. funding played a role. He’s optimistic that the incoming Trump administration will be more cooperative in exposing the truth.
“We’re nearing the beginning of the real investigation because come January, with a friendly administration, we think we’re going to get all of this information,” he said.
Since 2012, the U.S. government has been collecting data on risky research practices, including gain-of-function research, which involves enhancing viruses to make them more dangerous for study. Paul’s office learned from a whistleblower that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has been privy to this information for years, reviewed biannually under the “U.S. Government Policy of Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern.”
According to policy documents, this oversight process monitors research that could “pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety… or national security.”
To Paul, this confirms that officials knew how risky gain-of-function research was long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many experts have linked COVID-19 to gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The controversy deepened when it was revealed that U.S. funds were funneled to the lab. The National Institutes of Health granted EcoHealth Alliance $4 million to study bat coronaviruses at Wuhan, according to a House investigation.
“Many people insist that EcoHealth Alliance conducted gain of function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. That is categorically untrue,” EcoHealth Alliance said in response to the allegations, claiming the studies involved bat coronaviruses that couldn’t infect humans.
Paul questions whether the Wuhan research was flagged for review under the policy. “Here’s the question: If they think it’s dangerous enough that they’re sending it up to the White House so they can oversee it, was the Wuhan research sent up?” he asked.
If so, these documents could expose not only the pandemic’s origins but also which U.S. health officials approved funding for Wuhan’s experiments.
On Monday, Paul sent letters to OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and President Biden, requesting unredacted copies of classified reports on dual-use research oversight. He also demanded preservation of all related documents and communications.
For years, Paul has pressed federal agencies for transparency about COVID-19’s origins but has faced stonewalling. “It’s been the opposite of anybody cooperating with us,” he said, lamenting that documents are heavily redacted.
Paul suspects the lack of transparency could be an attempt to obscure government culpability in supporting dangerous research. “We know that the research [at Wuhan] was reviewed,” Paul said. “What I’ve always wanted from the beginning is, I want the discussion… Show us the discussion. That’s not classified, that’s not secret, it’s not like nuclear bombs or something.”
He also hopes to determine whether Dr. Anthony Fauci, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, had a hand in approving the Wuhan funding.
“It’s not just for culpability,” Paul said of his push for the documents. “I want to see what’s broken about the safety process of overseeing this, and this is an argument for why we need legislation to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
In July 2024, Paul introduced the Risky Research Review Act to establish an independent Life Sciences Research Security Board to oversee high-risk research and prevent future pandemics.
Now, with the prospect of a more cooperative Trump administration, Paul is optimistic about finally obtaining the crucial information. “We’re very hopeful that we’re gonna get it all, and so I think we’re on the cusp of uncovering what happened with COVID,” he said.
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
