The FBI under the Trump administration investigated Dr. Anthony Fauci and other scientists over claims they covered up the origins of Covid-19, specifically whether it came from a Chinese lab. According to reports, FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors sought evidence related to at least eight scientists, including Fauci's emails and payment records. This investigation was renewed in early 2022 by then-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who demanded answers about stalled probes into the pandemic's origins. Former adviser Dr. David Morens has pleaded guilty to concealing federal records related to research on the pandemic's origins, and his case is being investigated for evidence against Fauci.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In 2023, under the second Trump administration, then-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino met with dozens of agents at the Washington D.C. headquarters, demanding to know why investigators had stalled a probe into the origins of the pandemic and why they were not more heavily scrutinizing the role of government scientists, according to current and former officials. This push was part of an effort to investigate whether Covid-19 came from a Chinese lab, specifically the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The investigation also targeted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Despite no concrete evidence of a cover-up, there is still no definitive answer to what caused the pandemic.
Written for “Trump Admin Investigates Fauci” on 2026-09-07,
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 5359 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-06
New details about the FBI’s push under the second Trump administration to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci and find evidence Covid-19 came from a Chinese lab have emerged.
asserted
details → investigate → lab
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was thrust into the political spotlight during the pandemic.
asserted
Fauci → thrust → pandemic
As health officials scrambled to find the source of the outbreak, a theory emerged that the deadly virus was leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology while scientists were researching bat coronaviruses.
asserted
scientists → scramble → coronaviruses
Many Trump supporters even believed Fauci and other researchers covered up the leak.
asserted
Fauci → believe → leak
There is still no definitive answer as to what caused the pandemic — and no concrete evidence of a cover-up — but, according to a New York Times report, the FBI and Justice Department are still investigating.
uncertain
FBI → be → report
Early last year, then-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino met with dozens of agents at the bureau’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, demanding to know why investigators had stalled a probe into the origins of the pandemic and why they were not more heavily scrutinizing the role of government scientists, current and former officials told the Times.
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officials → meet → Times
Under this renewed push, FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors have sought evidence — including phone, email and payment records — related to at least eight scientists, including Fauci, according to the Times.
uncertain
agents → renew → Times
When reached by The Independent about the new reporting, the FBI’s national press office said, “We don't have any comment.”
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We → reach → comment
The Independent has also reached out to the DOJ for comment.
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Independent → reach → comment
Dr. David Morens, a former adviser to Fauci, pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to conceal federal records related to research on the pandemic’s origins.
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Morens → plead → origins
He was accused of using his private email account to intentionally get around public records laws while working at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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He → accuse → Diseases
DOJ prosecutors in Maryland subpoenaed documents in Morens’ case in September 2025 as they sought evidence about Fauci, including any emails he sent to certain researchers from his personal account, according to documents reviewed by the Times.
uncertain
he → subpoena → Times
The FBI’s Cleveland office also recently examined whether Fauci and other government scientists pressured virologists in early 2020 to understate the possibility that Covid-19 came from a lab, according to the Times.
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Covid-19 → examine → Times
Just before leaving office in January 2025, then-President Joe Biden issued a preemptive pardon to Fauci for any federal crimes he may have committed or taken part in since January 2014 as NIAID director or in service to the White House during the pandemic.
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he → leave → pandemic
Despite his protection from Biden, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a Senate hearing in late July, refusing to answer questions about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Fauci → invoke → pandemic
Ahead of the hearing, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, released more than 1,000 pages from a long-running diary Fauci kept.
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Fauci → chair → diary
In an April 2021 entry, Fauci wrote that members of the “radical right wing” like Paul were trying to “connect me with the virus from WUHAN.”
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members → write → WUHAN
“They are saying that I deliberately worked with the Chinese together with [zoologist] Peter Daszak to create a virus that would be released to the world,” he wrote at the time.
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he → say → time
“This sounds very much like a way-out conspiracy theory, which it is.
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it → sound → theory
However, there are enough crazy people around to make this a problem.”
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this → be → ?
The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress in early August after he refused to answer questions at the Senate hearing.
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he → vote → hearing
