Whistleblower: CIA Blocked, Spied on COVID Investigators

BY: Hem Kumar 

𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣

A senior intelligence official has accused the CIA of obstructing the U.S. government’s own investigation into the origins of COVID-19—alleging withheld records, retaliation against cooperating staff, and surveillance of investigators.

Testifying before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, James Erdman III, who led the ODNI probe under the Trump administration, said agency personnel were “spied upon illegally” while carrying out directives authorized at the highest levels of government.
Erdman further claimed the CIA suppressed internal assessments pointing to a lab leak and punished analysts who refused to abandon that conclusion.

His testimony comes amid a shifting official stance. In January 2025, the CIA—under Director John Ratcliffe—publicly stated that a lab leak is now the most likely origin of the pandemic, reversing years of ambiguity. Earlier intelligence summaries released under the Biden administration showed a divided community, with agencies split between natural origin, lab leak, and inconclusive positions.
Erdman also pointed to the influence of former COVID adviser Anthony Fauci, alleging that scientists consulted by intelligence agencies were not neutral, but closely tied to gain-of-function research—the very field under scrutiny.

Congress had mandated full disclosure of intelligence findings in 2023, yet only a brief, partially redacted summary was released. Now, according to Erdman, efforts by ODNI under Director Tulsi Gabbard to declassify roughly 2,000 documents are being slowed by resistance from the CIA and State Department.
He cited the firing of a CIA contractor just one day after speaking with investigators as further evidence of institutional pushback.

“The deep state still resists this congressional mandate,” said Senator Rand Paul, who has long argued that a lab leak is the most plausible explanation and is pushing for stricter oversight of high-risk research.
Meanwhile, a promised policy to restrict gain-of-function research—ordered by the Trump administration for release by September 2025—remains outstanding.

Erdman warned that continued resistance from both intelligence and public health agencies is now stalling reforms aimed at preventing future pandemics.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣-𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 , 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙄𝙣 𝙂𝙪𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨.— ✦—