Biden’s Pardon Shields Fauci Amid Lab Leak Suppression Storm

Paul Riverbank, 11/27/2025Fauci faces scrutiny over COVID lab leak cover-up claims; Biden’s pardon sparks fresh transparency debate.

A recent podcast appearance by Dr. Marty Makary, currently leading the FDA and formerly teaching at Johns Hopkins, thrust these unresolved tensions back into public view. Makary, whose outspokenness is familiar to many in medicine, didn’t mince words. “It was a massive cover-up,” he declared, arguing that Fauci worked aggressively, in those frantic early months, to shut down talk about the now-infamous Wuhan lab leak theory—even as some researchers voiced private doubts about the official line.

Makary’s account is more than just a string of allegations; he claims there’s paper to match the whispers. According to him, Fauci regularly convened top scientists. Notes from those gatherings, Makary suggests, paint a markedly different picture than what the world saw on television. Behind closed doors, some participants described a lab leak as plausible, possibly likely. Yet, almost overnight, many of those same scientists signed a published letter, swearing off the idea—in print, no less—that COVID could have escaped a Chinese institute.

“You read the notes, and you realize how swiftly opinions shifted,” Makary says, his exasperation barely concealed. What follows, in his telling, borders on classic Washington intrigue: some scientists connected with Fauci’s agency reportedly received substantial research funding soon after.

The House Oversight Committee, never shy of a high-profile investigation, took a close look themselves. Their findings? Fauci not only encouraged a paper dismissing the lab theory (known as “The Proximal Origin”), but also cited it days later beside President Trump—convenient timing for an administration desperate to calm an anxious public.

Makary’s frustration goes beyond any personal skepticism. What rankles him is broader: the sense that while Americans rearranged their lives—parents handling remote school, businesses shuttered, communities isolated—officials like Fauci and his then-superior, NIH Director Francis Collins, seemed to control the debate itself. “They had tremendous sway within the research world,” Makary insists, “so people didn’t probe too deeply.”

He also resurrects the longstanding argument over “gain of function” research—work that involves modifying viruses, sometimes to make them more transmissible. According to Makary, Fauci and Collins worked meticulously to relax restrictions on this kind of science, years before the pandemic.

One more twist: in late 2023, President Biden signed a sweeping pardon for Fauci, covering nearly a decade of his government service, a move Makary implies is anything but routine. He wonders aloud—was this just Washington looking out for its own amid rising public scrutiny over the COVID-19 origin story?

All this comes as many Americans say they want, above all, transparency—a full accounting of who knew what, and when. Yet, in the midst of mounting questions, the country has no formal national commission on COVID’s origins or the decisions that shaped lockdowns, closings, and mandates. The absence leaves space for theories and disappointment to thrive.

For now, Fauci hasn’t issued a detailed rebuttal to Makary’s recent accusations. He remains a subject of ongoing requests for comment, his response watched as closely as ever.

In a democracy, trust in public institutions can’t simply be commanded—it’s earned, sometimes painfully, in the aftermath of crisis. Whether the country ever gets a complete accounting of those pandemic months, the lesson is clear: when so much is at stake, only sunlight can repair what doubt and secrecy have broken.

Skepticism toward America’s top health institutions, simmering since the earliest days of the pandemic, has boiled over yet again. This time, at the heart of the storm: Dr. Anthony Fauci, long a public face of the federal COVID-19 response, now at the center of a controversy surrounding the virus’s origins and the government’s telling of that story.A recent podcast appearance by Dr. Marty Makary, currently leading the FDA and formerly teaching at Johns Hopkins, thrust these unresolved tensions back into public view. Makary, whose outspokenness is familiar to many in medicine, didn’t mince words. “It was a massive cover-up,” he declared, arguing that Fauci worked aggressively, in those frantic early months, to shut down talk about the now-infamous Wuhan lab leak theory—even as some researchers voiced private doubts about the official line.Makary’s account is more than just a string of allegations; he claims there’s paper to match the whispers. According to him, Fauci regularly convened top scientists. Notes from those gatherings, Makary suggests, paint a markedly different picture than what the world saw on television. Behind closed doors, some participants described a lab leak as plausible, possibly likely. Yet, almost overnight, many of those same scientists signed a published letter, swearing off the idea—in print, no less—that COVID could have escaped a Chinese institute.“You read the notes, and you realize how swiftly opinions shifted,” Makary says, his exasperation barely concealed. What follows, in his telling, borders on classic Washington intrigue: some scientists connected with Fauci’s agency reportedly received substantial research funding soon after.The House Oversight Committee, never shy of a high-profile investigation, took a close look themselves. Their findings? Fauci not only encouraged a paper dismissing the lab theory (known as “The Proximal Origin”), but also cited it days later beside President Trump—convenient timing for an administration desperate to calm an anxious public.Makary’s frustration goes beyond any personal skepticism. What rankles him is broader: the sense that while Americans rearranged their lives—parents handling remote school, businesses shuttered, communities isolated—officials like Fauci and his then-superior, NIH Director Francis Collins, seemed to control the debate itself. “They had tremendous sway within the research world,” Makary insists, “so people didn’t probe too deeply.”He also resurrects the longstanding argument over “gain of function” research—work that involves modifying viruses, sometimes to make them more transmissible. According to Makary, Fauci and Collins worked meticulously to relax restrictions on this kind of science, years before the pandemic.One more twist: in late 2023, President Biden signed a sweeping pardon for Fauci, covering nearly a decade of his government service, a move Makary implies is anything but routine. He wonders aloud—was this just Washington looking out for its own amid rising public scrutiny over the COVID-19 origin story?All this comes as many Americans say they want, above all, transparency—a full accounting of who knew what, and when. Yet, in the midst of mounting questions, the country has no formal national commission on COVID’s origins or the decisions that shaped lockdowns, closings, and mandates. The absence leaves space for theories and disappointment to thrive.For now, Fauci hasn’t issued a detailed rebuttal to Makary’s recent accusations. He remains a subject of ongoing requests for comment, his response watched as closely as ever.In a democracy, trust in public institutions can’t simply be commanded—it’s earned, sometimes painfully, in the aftermath of crisis. Whether the country ever gets a complete accounting of those pandemic months, the lesson is clear: when so much is at stake, only sunlight can repair what doubt and secrecy have broken.