Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed this week that an active federal investigation is underway into whether U.S. taxpayer-funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology may have directly contributed to the COVID-19 pandemic — and whether Dr. Anthony Fauci lied under oath to Congress about his role in the controversy.

Speaking with Megyn Kelly, Gabbard explained she is working closely with newly appointed NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to uncover the full scope of America’s involvement in dangerous gain-of-function research. RealClearPolitics reported.

“The thing that we are working with Jay Bhattacharya, the new NIH director on with as well Secretary Kennedy is looking at the gain-of-function research that in case of Wuhan lab as many other bio labs around world was actually U.S. funded and leads to this dangerous kind of research that in many examples has resulted in either a pandemic or some other major health crisis,” Gabbard said.

Kelly pressed her guest, noting the lack of a confirmed “smoking gun” linking the Wuhan experiments directly to the outbreak.

“We already know Eco-Health Alliance was partnering with this Wuhan lab to do gain-of-function research. We just never have been able to have somebody say it was that exact experiment that led to this COVID bug,” Kelly said. “Have we gotten there? What’s the new thing you’re digging in on?”

Gabbard replied that investigators are closing in on establishing that link.

“We’re working on that with Jay Bhattacharya and look forward to being able to share that hopefully very soon. That specific link between the gain-of-function research and what we saw with Covid-19,” she said.

Kelly noted the implications would be “enormous.”

“If that is true, and it was Peter Daszak’s research with the so-called Bat Lady that caused this pandemic, then we did fund it. Anthony Fauci helped fund the pandemic he was in charge of fighting,” Kelly said.

Gabbard agreed, pointing out that Fauci repeatedly denied any such involvement when grilled under oath by Sen. Rand Paul.

“Something he denied over and over to Sen. Rand Paul’s questioning, under oath,” she said. “So is it any wonder that he sought a pre-emptive pardon for anything during a certain period of time by President Biden before he left office?”

Kelly also highlighted how Fauci and his allies smeared dissenters.

“He strong-armed and smeared people like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya — anybody who came out and said they don’t know if it is natural, maybe it smacks of ‘lab,’” said the host.

Gabbard stressed the larger concern isn’t only about COVID’s origins, but the ongoing threat posed by U.S.-funded biolabs worldwide.

“The reason why this is so important isn’t that this happened in the past, it is that this gain-of-function research is happening in biolabs around the world,” Gabbard said.

She recalled how she was vilified at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war for raising concerns about American-backed labs in Ukraine.

“I got attacked and I think you saw this, we’ve probably talked about it on your show before when I warned against U.S.-funded bio labs in Ukraine when the Russia-Ukraine war kicked off for this very reason,” Gabbard said. “Who knows what kinds of pathogens are in these labs and if released, could create another COVID-like pandemic? And for that, I was called a Russian asset, trumpeting Putin’s talking points. All of this nonsense simply for speaking the truth.”

She pointed out that official records remain publicly available.

“By the way, it’s still on the U.S. Embassy Ukraine’s website today about how the U.S. has funded these bio labs in Ukraine,” she added.

Ultimately, Gabbard said, the only way to protect Americans from another catastrophic pandemic is to end gain-of-function research once and for all.

“In order to prevent another Covid-like pandemic or another major health incident that could affect us in the world we have to end this gain-of-function research, provide evidence that shows exactly why and how it’s in our best interest — the American people’s best interest — to bring about an end to it,” she said.