Rand Paul releases docs showing FBI stopped CBP inspection of virus researcher

Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul made public a searchable “Reading Room” database containing documents that detail how the FBI ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to halt a planned inspection and questioning of British zoologist Peter Daszak when he returned to the United States in February 2021. Daszak, former president of EcoHealth Alliance, had been flagged by CBP’s National Targeting Center as a high‑interest individual because of his long‑standing collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and his role in NIH‑funded bat‑coronavirus research.

The released records note that CBP intended to inquire about Daszak’s contacts at the Wuhan lab, any samples he might have collected, and the purpose of his trip, but the FBI intervened and instructed agents to stand down. The documents also reference NIH grants that funded gain‑of‑function research and a request for Daszak to retrieve a virus specimen from the Wuhan Institute for analysis in the United States. Paul’s release comes amid broader congressional scrutiny of the pandemic’s origins and allegations concerning former Dr. Anthony Fauci’s involvement in related research programs.