Tulsi Gabbard releases declassified lab‑leak report on Wuhan Institute

Outgoing U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard disclosed nearly 400 pages of COVID‑19 origins records, including a May 2020 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory assessment. The declassified report concluded that “all of the necessary conditions for an accidental release of a laboratory‑modified coronavirus…were present at the Chinese Wuhan Institute of Virology in mid‑to‑late 2019.” It noted that Wuhan researchers had the capabilities, materials and programs needed for such a scenario and placed equal weight on three possibilities: a lab‑modified virus released accidentally, a natural emergence, or an accidental release of a naturally‑occurring virus. The assessment stopped short of stating that SARS‑CoV‑2 was engineered or that a leak had occurred. The release came two days after the 180‑day deadline mandated by the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires public declassification of intelligence on coronavirus research, funding, and gain‑of‑function work. The documents also included internal emails, diplomatic cables and a final progress report from the EcoHealth Alliance’s NIH‑funded bat‑coronavirus project that partnered with the institute.