Chairman Paul Letter to DNI Gabbard — page 1

RAND PAUL, KENTUCKY, CHAIRMAN RON JOHNSON, WISCONSIN JAMES LANKFORD, OKLAHOMA RICK SCOTT, FLORIDA JOSH HAWLEY, MISSOURI BERNIE MORENO, OHIO JONI ERNST, IOWA ASHLEY MOODY, FLORIDA GARY C. PETERS, MICHIGAN MARGARET WOOD HASSAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT JOHN FETTERMAN, PENNSYLVANIA ANDY KIM, NEW JERSEY RUBEN GALLEGO, ARIZONA ELISSA SLOTKIN, MICHIGAN Wnited States Senate COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6250 October 30, 2025 The Honorable Tulsi Gabbard Director of National Intelligence Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2201 C St., N.W. Washington, DC 20511 Dear Director Gabbard: As Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, I write to request records related to the Committee's ongoing investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and risky life sciences research. The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has jurisdiction over government information and the duty of "studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all agencies and departments of the Government."1 Additionally, the Committee is authorized to investigate "the possible existence of fraud, misfeasance, malfeasance, collusion, mismanagement, incompetence, corruption or unethical practices, waste, extravagance, conflicts of interest, and the improper expenditure of Government funds in transactions, contracts, and activities of the Government or of Government officials and employees and any and all such improper practices between Government personnel and corporations, individuals, companies, or persons affiliated therewith, doing business with the Government, and the compliance or noncompliance of such corporations, companies, or individuals or other entities with the rules, regulations, and laws governing the various governmental agencies and the Government's relationships with the public."2 Over the course of the investigation, I have obtained information that leads me to believe the Intelligence Community is in possession of records critical to the Committee's ongoing inquiry. For example, in a September 2015 email, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contacted Dr. Ralph Baric, a scientist who collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), to discuss a "possible project" relating to "[c]oronavirus evolution and possible natural human adaptation."3 On January 23, 2020, Dr. Baric was asked by "the Sponsor" to give a presentation on the "current Coronavirus situation" at a "B Group" meeting the following week.4 "B Group" appears to be a reference to the ODNI's 1 S. Rule XXV(k); S. Res. 445, 108th Cong. (2004)(enacted). 2 S. Res. 94, 119th Cong. § 12(e) (2025)(enacted). 3 Email from Ralph Baric, RE: Request for Your Expertise (Sept. 9, 2015-Sept. 24, 2015); A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3985#Sec12. 4 Email from Ralph Baric, RE: B Group Next Week (Jan. 23, 2020-Jan. 29, 2020).