Judicial Watch Wins Court Order for CIA January 6 Answers

[INSIDE JW]

FBI RECORDS REVEAL THOMAS CROOKS’ PHONE MESSAGES, DRONE DETAILS

[[link removed]]&H=0589a78c60b3531f4bec0d99704dd2986ac70e6a83fb8022ddbb001487794687

We are learning more about Thomas Crooks, the would-be assassin of
President Trump, but the FBI is sitting on much more.

We received 249 pages
[[link removed]]&H=024db05cbd4c5a1f62df7f934dc845de72ff513501a72dd82a81f27f8aedc0aa
of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records through a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning Thomas Matthew Crooks, the
gunman who attempted to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald
Trump at a July 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The records include photos taken of the Pittsburgh area by Crooks
using a drone, cell phone evidence that shows that Crooks received
fundraising appeals for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a package
delivery from Hong Kong, and an unusual chat thread between Crooks and
an unidentified person.

We filed our July 2025 FOIA lawsuit
[[link removed]]&H=73d2e1c8865f811d2f78480f4143e6bef6e3393ca095c06d660f15ff8a97cb8d
[[link removed] the
FBI failed to respond to a July 2024 request for records concerning
Crooks and the assassination attempt (_Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S.
Department of Justice_
[[link removed]]&H=a221c9e0d4613895c169117a77a72c96a20970526d7f31d364aa3ad524d68e40
(No. 1:25-cv-02216)). The Justice Department has indicated that the
total volume of records in the Crooks investigative file numbers
approximately 75,000 pages
[[link removed]].&H=00ae2c697a56357e6200c8faf653954137072964923a57b325fd89a800f657f1 At
their current release rate of approximately 500 pages per month, it
will take over 12 years to provide us with all the records.

An FBI electronic communication
[[link removed]]&H=936214be74010627e49ddb1f985d10a8fcf9b012de63a7011c956cadf7f79cbc
dated July 19, 2024, concerns a cell phone conversation in the Crooks
investigation described as a “chat thread” between Crooks and a
recipient whose name is redacted. The conversation occurred between
May 21, 2023, and January 3, 2024.

The outgoing messages consist largely of one- and two-word messages or
character strings, including:

> Hello
> Hello red
> Hello red
> Hdudhdbdbbd
> 7888ejdj
> Yolo
> Ddodjjf
> 890
> Hdjd
> Djdj
> red
> Yup red
> Hello
> Jhhhuuh
> Hhdj
> Jjjjjjjjjjjj
> Hello red
> Red red …

The incoming messages are completely redacted from this text chain.

A report
[[link removed]]&H=519b737ff98700e10103ee887cafa23e848f2e2a622681984f5ee3d5615f1350
[[link removed]
“Samsung Messaging Review” is dated July 18, 2024, and details the
FBI’s identification of other communications on a Crooks cell phone
as “pertinent” to its investigation. FBI agents noted:

> Conversation with unknown contact [redacted] 8 February 2023 to 10
> February 2023; Conversations with [redacted] 9 January 2023 to 16
> January 2023;

Conversations with [redacted] 12 December 2022 to 26 December 2022.

The FBI also noted text messages consisting of campaign solicitations
[[link removed]]&H=0405db96de80b33e65a289a65066609d629cded0ad6468084bd4546bebf7da62
from then-U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock and DHL shipment
[[link removed]]&H=946efba758ec7dff1afdd85101f8d2ab20a3a7293690b764c7c621d84914829d
notifications from Hong Kong.

Much of the new production consists of FBI laboratory analysis
[[link removed]]&H=959fc7f7b7014b0f57cb6ba8d0063c5956b44ce5bf68928b9ca737e176b0ea50
of a drone examined as part of the Crooks investigation.

An FBI laboratory report
[[link removed]]&H=bfe209653458270f9a0098e0f6bb4a9815767003ad15d663cebdc7ed46476fec
dated July 19, 2024, details their technical exploitation of Thomas
Crooks’ drone. They indicate they successfully extracted 40 images
from the drone and eight flight logs. The images were taken between
February 6, 2024, and February 27, 2024, in the Pittsburgh area. Seven
of the eight flights occurred in the Allegheny-West, PA, area and an
eighth flight on July 13, 2024, in the Butler, PA, area. The data
pulled from the device indicates that it had been powered on 15 times.

These latest records reveal more pieces of the puzzle surrounding
Thomas Crooks. The FBI should stop the slow drip of heavily redacted
records and immediately provide the full investigative record –
especially since the death last week of James Copenhaver
[[link removed]],&H=6b7663d659eda9166b3a0d30684738af19160e5fbbaaeb4035d747d6be2475d6
who was severely injured from being shot during the assassination
attempt on President Trump.

In September 2026, this lawsuit uncovered heavily redacted FBI records
[[link removed]]&H=f6cd6d8c97bc518722e91fcc6fa63eea82bfba142176d141ab4fa476b2e58f4a
revealing that Crooks purchased “a chest rig and ceramic plates,”
exhibited increasingly unusual behavior, including talking to himself,
pacing at night, staying awake for extended periods and exhibiting
impulsivity issues.

In June 2026, this lawsuit forced the release of heavily redacted
records
[[link removed]]&H=421173496fded64d5f1b61d139a09574a3086bdaca4def17672aafe35537efdc
from the FBI that indicated that a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)
officer at the July 2024 presidential rally for Donald Trump in
Butler, PA, recovered a “gray remote device” with an antenna from
Crooks’ pocket after he was killed.

In May 2026, we received
[[link removed]],&H=5fc05cbad61a0e0428b4dd1c918d8d30f8b730d160ce1bbaee2dd02ea3af7a8e in
response to a Pennsylvania court order, an audio recording of a 911
[[link removed]]&H=916a57ec37bb2b1f20f3147de0cf5050ac34be7b098f4686e60dea01de0eb0aa
call placed by the father of Crooks
[[link removed]].&H=41fc2f3904f2958a5f81963b4554fbde97520812c9db08a5c15faf77a6cec7d2

In April 2026, our federal FOIA lawsuit forced the release of the
first FBI records
[[link removed]]&H=4f525b47b1f772d113fc18dd92677cd1bd3249e804b8d5f16900527e0c59061f about the
Butler assassination attempt, revealing that law enforcement personnel
broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting
suspiciously” prior to the shooting.

Also in April 2026, the lawsuit forced the release of records
[[link removed]]&H=9f9ed8fad4320f28b7ec65ba5f7560bf80c56e860b5fbb9baac7b745478ae0b4 from
the FBI that showed that Crooks was reportedly involved in an
altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments”
directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA, rally.

In August 2024, we uncovered
[[link removed]]&H=a6f192a80fda1084634a5ad73b76c8e926f4e6b79518801e392daa75b6fbe37d
documents under a Pennsylvania open record request from the district
attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive
preparation of local police for the rally at which former President
Trump was shot. The preparation included sniper teams, counter assault
teams and a quick response force.

In August 2024, in response to a Pennsylvania open records request, we
obtained
[[link removed]]&H=a6f192a80fda1084634a5ad73b76c8e926f4e6b79518801e392daa75b6fbe37d
bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler
Township Police Department.

JUDGE ORDERS CIA TO PROVIDE ANSWERS ON JANUARY 6 RECORDS

For more than two years the CIA has been stonewalling our request for
information on its role at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Now a federal judge has stepped in and
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=99ebe65e6e79aa565ef5bee1caa316b1f2e8d99e623fd6280adaf1b5ca94868b
the agency, beginning this week, to provide answers on its search for
records.

The order was issued immediately after a September 24 joint status
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=07a5d4b8fb7a9d7e35a46d736ff15eff2919e9a786c9415190f78e366c4125e3
held at our request in our August 2024 Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) lawsuit (_Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency_
[[link removed] _(No.
1:24-cv-02172)).

We asked the court to order the CIA to provide more information on the
status of its FOIA response after zero progress for over two years.
The Court ordered the CIA to provide details on potential productions
of records and its search process:

> Defendant has represented to the Court that it anticipates
> completing its search for and review of responsive records within
> eight months. It is ORDERED that Defendant shall file a notice by
> October 2, 2026, including a date certain when Defendant will begin
> rolling interim productions of responsive records. The Parties are
> further ORDERED to file another joint status report by December 1,
> 2026. In that report, Defendant is directed to describe its search
> process, the volume of materials located, the progress of its
> responsiveness review, and any interim productions made. The report
> should also apprise the Court of the results of any conferral
> regarding the scope of requests. It is further ORDERED that
> Defendant shall provide Plaintiff with any draft status reports at
> least one business day in advance of the filing deadline.

We
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=2d74758655acd8dfe52224271a481462b5cdd3cae19bab634563eadafd9127d8
for records related to any shots fired inside the Capitol on January
6, 2021, and records of requests for CIA support, including bomb
technicians and bomb-detecting dogs placed on standby or used in
response to the massive protests in and around Washington, DC.

In March 2024, Judicial Watch received
[[link removed] pages
[[link removed]]&H=1ee5965b8485d9233e11a6fff1b8f62d4888aef66a6b5d2b6ea1dad803877d11 of Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) records from the
Department of Justice in a FOIA lawsuit that show the CIA deployed
personnel to Washington, DC on January 6, 2021.

The records include a series of text messages under the heading
“January 7 Intel Chain
[[link removed]
in which two separate references to participation by the CIA are made.
One
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=5407fe20260d719c59700cde1f719009e266796f7940e494745439d8fb699f79
that “two CIA bomb techs” are assisting with “a pipe bomb scene
on New Jersey and D ST SE.” Another record references “s
[[link removed]
CIA dog teams on standby
[[link removed]

In a
[[link removed]
Status Report
[[link removed]]&H=6861f067f52d3ca447659982ab473b5c07313f388ecedfd5f4085e8700f504cf
filed with the court on September 2, 2026, we argues:

> More than two years after this lawsuit was filed, the agency states
> that it is still not finished with its search. Notably the agency
> does not claim that this is because the request was overbroad or
> otherwise unmanageable. It simply has not finished the search after
> more than two years.
>
> ***
>
> Accordingly, pursuant to the Court’s June 15, 2026 Minute Order,
> Plaintiff proposes that the agency be ordered to provide a detailed
> description of the status of its efforts, including but not limited
> to descriptions of the searches conducted and remaining to be
> conducted, and a date certain when the searches will be complete.
> The agency also should be ordered to disclose the number of records
> located and reviewed, the rate at which the records are being
> reviewed, and a date certain when the review will be complete.
> Finally, the agency should be ordered to provide a date certain when
> interim productions will begin. Alternatively, Plaintiff requests an
> in-person status conference to further address these matters.

We’re pleased a federal court agrees with us that the CIA should
give the American people more information about its handling of a
simple FOIA request about what it was doing at the US Capitol on
January 6.

We have pursued details of January 6 on several fronts.

In July 2026, we
[[link removed] the
release [[link removed]]&H=961c17c3f73949def746e6d3715616add41d31c5c76522a7cf2b75cc74fd2af3 of
over 1,000 hours of Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department
body-worn camera footage from the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol event.

In April 2026, we
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=ab3a12f6bd5f91187d7efb7623172e18c519fbb03c03512d382002ca27779b03
a FOIA
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=ab3a12f6bd5f91187d7efb7623172e18c519fbb03c03512d382002ca27779b03
against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain records related
to possible improper targeting of January 6, 2021, Capitol protesters,
their supporters, and related nonprofits.

In July 2025, we
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=73ae3852ecc42c9456052ee358bff77bd5e994d16c1b259d435bf1f546159bc6 the U.S.
Department of Justice for records on accelerated January 6
prosecutions after Donald Trump was elected president in November
2024.

In June 2025, we
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=a34586c01b21a6818360e698c1f8f6db2f1f7b05448b9096003cd403e32a1acc
a
[[link removed]
million settlement
[[link removed]]&H=05bfea5d03f89c68bd8489f6b5ee2620f589cbaac107dbf0705c0bdc8af1d401
in the wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government filed on
behalf of the family of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran
who [[link removed] shot and killed
[[link removed]]&H=170149d4767137e0a8e36a999aa1b4ded058647f32d2669b998f446df168fcb1 inside the U.S. Capitol by then-Capitol
Police Lt. Michael Byrd on January 6, 2021. Ashli Babbitt was the only
January 6 homicide victim.

In October 2023, we received the
[[link removed]
[[link removed]]&H=edd3a3bb3d655740a5de26088a6dfac24b7139c56e8eccbcbefe916d09457a53 of James W. Joyce, senior
counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the Capitol Police,
in which he describes emails among senior officials of the United
States Capitol Police (USCP) in January 2021 that show warnings of
possible January 6 protests that could lead to serious disruptions at
the U.S. Capitol.



FEDERAL COURT UNSEALS SECRET FBI WARRANT RECORDS TARGETING MIKE
LINDELL

A federal court has unsealed key search warrant records
[[link removed]]&H=7c928d281af043ed079c5f9f734026d476371b73fecea2084518c57269d97ef6
behind the Biden FBI’s September 2022 seizure of Mike Lindell’s
cell phone (_In the Matter of the Search of a Person Located in the
District of Minnesota_, No. 22-mj-742 (TNL)).

The records, unsealed at the request of Judicial Watch and Lindell,
show that the FBI cited information from Dominion Voting
Systems—including its then-pending $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit
against Lindell and others—as part of its justification for
obtaining the warrant. The lawsuit was settled as to Lindell earlier
this year.

A federal court unsealed key search warrant records
[[link removed]]&H=7c928d281af043ed079c5f9f734026d476371b73fecea2084518c57269d97ef6
behind the Biden FBI’s September 2022 seizure of Mike Lindell’s
cell phone (_In the Matter of the Search of a Person Located in the
District of Minnesota_ (No. 22-mj-742 (TNL))).

The records, unsealed at the request of Judicial Watch and Mike
Lindell, show that the Biden FBI used private litigant Dominion Voting
Systems’ then-pending $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Mike
Lindell and others (a lawsuit that had been settled
[[link removed]]&H=0a90631d6ac0ace9668aa1b988b51d18ae7a437ecbd904db2d1581a75eb5cd5d
as to Lindell earlier this year) as well as other information from
Dominion as part of its justification for seeking the warrant.

Dominion Voting Systems was suing Mike Lindel, and the Biden FBI chose
to rely on this private lawsuit as a reason for armed federal agents
to seize his phone at a fast-food drive-through. All of this, and
Lindell was never charged with anything. Thanks to Judicial Watch,
Americans can now see how the Biden FBI weaponized federal law
enforcement against a prominent critic of the 2020 election.

On September 7, 2022, the FBI obtained
[[link removed]]&H=7c928d281af043ed079c5f9f734026d476371b73fecea2084518c57269d97ef6
a warrant from U.S. Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung to search “the
person of Michael Lindell,” seize his phone, and use his
fingerprints or face to unlock it. The FBI already had nearly two
years of Lindell’s phone and Apple account records.

The FBI obtained warrants to track Lindell through his phone’s
location a week before the warrant for the phone seizure was issued.

According to Lindell, as he was returning from a hunting trip in Iowa
on September 13, 2022, four plainclothes FBI agents in three unmarked
vehicles surrounded him at a Hardee’s drive-through lane in Mankato,
Minnesota. The unmarked vehicles had followed Lindell all the way from
Iowa. They took his phone and questioned him about Dominion voting
machines.

The unredacted portion of the 80-page affidavit shows how central
Dominion was to the government’s case. The FBI told
[[link removed]]&H=96efb79310c8329856e5e45fe262dfc7129fdbed364426fd2f143f4ddc0b02a4
the court:

> Lindell has a personal financial motive to find evidence undermining
> the integrity of Dominion machines, as he is facing substantial
> litigation from Dominion based on Lindell’s disparaging statements
> about the machines.

The unsealed affidavit also:

* listed interviews with, and records from, Dominion witnesses among
its principal sources;
* relied on “Dominion officials” for the claim that copies of
Mesa County, Colorado’s election system contained “proprietary
Dominion data and software;”
* devoted a section to Lindell’s public statements “Linking His
Ongoing Litigation Against Dominion to the Mesa County Incident;”
and
* authorized agents to seize everything on Lindell’s phone relating
to “any Dominion computerized voting system.”

The affidavit further alleged that the phone held evidence of identity
theft, damage to a protected computer, and conspiracy. The allegations
were tied to the May 2021 copying of Mesa County’s Dominion election
system, and the affidavit relied mainly on Lindell’s phone contacts
with, and payments to, a redacted individual. Despite the
affidavit’s claim that there was probable cause to believe a crime
was committed, the FBI never charged Lindell or anyone else.

The newly unsealed records also show that, as recently as March 2026
[[link removed]],&H=9f11167d915f04634a1cb810cb84a99322b51f455760542b68c23f8abda4593f
the Justice Department sought to keep evidence of the FBI’s
coordination with Dominion secret by requesting another one-year
extension of the seal, arguing that disclosure would “prejudice the
government’s ongoing investigation.” On July 30, 2026, lawyers for
Judicial Watch and Lindell told the Justice Department that they would
move to intervene and unseal. The Justice Department responded that it
“would move on its own to unseal those materials,” and it did so
[[link removed]]&H=ca1101910fce8135b3da48748f1efc3c3649f6bcb0f6edf82f0c0fe5d8a8eb6a
on August 17 after redacting certain sections of the documents. The
affidavit and application were placed on the public docket on August
28.

Judicial Watch and Lindell then identified nine additional sealed
docket entries and filed a consent motion
[[link removed]]&H=ef6de88ad9b2f9443a5e2c90bdf577e059427a74e48d3659ee2180c475962c29
to unseal them. The motion noted that “America has a long history of
distrust of secret proceedings.” U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon T. Huseby
granted
[[link removed]]&H=30a2a93a71a5b81b6a8f12282f23e7843e4aae9e7f378d08934c91d5f102f6a5
the motion on September 14, 2026, and the remaining records, including
the sealing petitions, were subsequently made public.

“It is a travesty that the prior administration relied on
information provided by a private litigant in existing litigation to
obtain a warrant to seize the telephone of an opposing litigant,”
said Mike Lindell.

The unsealing is part of our investigation into whether federal law
enforcement agencies abused their powers to target allies of a
political opponent.

We are also suing
[[link removed]]&H=c5664c4248b8675a0255b09355975819c768d817616ab6633f4d2efa9c547489
the Justice Department for records about its investigations of Lindell
(_Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice_
[[link removed]]&H=c5664c4248b8675a0255b09355975819c768d817616ab6633f4d2efa9c547489
(No. 25-cv-03850)). We have also moved to unseal warrant materials
targeting Rudy Giuliani
[[link removed]],&H=81ea7f97a691cff67275e0b068440a44521948aa6beed3db1468874375f102a2
Victoria Toensing
[[link removed]],&H=7a56f22f7179490f8351dcf358d4eb08f239831827f4ea36c5431d9ea9bbdc9b
and Michael Caputo
[[link removed]].&H=b1bc044ecc15c4e0cdd984937482a3271d160fad0bd57b4ae101fb723a5666c7

JUDICIAL WATCH SUES CIA FOR FAUCI COVID-19 COMMUNICATIONS

Why was Anthony Fauci communicating with the CIA about the origins of
Covid-19?

We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit
[[link removed]]&H=8f3ba5d83750b767745f0f330782b499a8e55c2ea6dbe55d51720e65fb3092b1
against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for records concerning
Dr. Anthony Fauci’s communications with the Intelligence Community
about the origins of Covid-19, gain-of-function research, the Wuhan
Institute of Virology, and the selection of scientific experts
consulted during the government’s Covid-19 origins investigations
(_Judicial Watch Inc. v. Central Intelligence Agenc_
[[link removed]
[[link removed] _(Case
1:26-cv-03336)).

We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after
the CIA failed to respond to a May 2026 FOIA request for:

* Communications involving Dr. Anthony Fauci and others (including
his executive assistants, senior advisors, or counsel) concerning the
origins of Covid-19, gain-of-function research, the Wuhan Institute of
Virology, EcoHealth Alliance, coronavirus research funded by the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the
selection of subject-matter experts.
* Records concerning the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (ODNI) Biological Sciences Experts Group (BSEG),
including its membership, work, conflicts of interest disclosures and
recusal records, and correspondence, with particular attention to Dr.
Ralph S. Baric of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
* Communications between CIA employees and employees of the ODNI
Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG) from March 1, 2025, through April
30, 2026, concerning the origins of Covid-19, the CIA’s production
of records to the DIG, any refusal or limitation on that production,
or CIA Senior Operations Officer James E. Erdman III.

The request followed congressional scrutiny of Fauci’s contacts with
the CIA and comes after explosive testimony
[[link removed]]&H=21277a54ba458e193ff96656fec821c9ccd323926c763f2cd42b888bd9192deb
by Erdman before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee on May 13, 2026. Erdman testified as a whistleblower
concerning the government’s investigation of Covid-19’s origins.

In the hearing
[[link removed]],&H=a8306cd845870dfde1a98654bb6d4592cc175c6e433bb75018f6e19b41633e1e
Erdman testified
[[link removed]]&H=21277a54ba458e193ff96656fec821c9ccd323926c763f2cd42b888bd9192deb
that:

> On April 8, 2025, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
> created a task force charged with restoring transparency and
> accountability to the Intelligence Community. The group was called
> DIG, or Director’s Initiatives Group …

Erdman asserted:

> Dr. Anthony Fauci influenced the IC’s analytic process and Covid
> origin’s findings by leveraging his position to ensure the IC
> consulted with a conflicted list of curated Subject Matter Experts
> (SME), public health officials, and scientists. This included the
> authors of the paper “The Proximal Origin of SARS-COV-2” and
> other public health experts and scientists who have been in his
> orbit for 20+ years, many of whom have and did receive funding from
> NIAID, as well as scientists working under IC contract.

This contradicts Dr. Fauci’s 2024 testimony to Congress, when he
answered “not to my knowledge” when asked if he had briefed any
intel agency concerning viral research.

The BSEG [Biological Sciences Experts Group] scientists influenced
national laboratory WMD [weapons of mass destruction] research, policy
decisions, finished analysis, and other intelligence matters, creating
misaligned incentives and conflicts of interest, as well as
counter-intelligence issues.

In a chronology of the origin of Covid-19, Erdman testified:

> Dr. Fauci injected himself into the process during two key
> timeframes. First in February 2020 as the pandemic started and in
> June 2021 as the IC was initiating a 90-day review of all source
> intelligence. His involvement with the IC in February 2020, when
> compared to his public-facing actions and that which has been
> revealed to the public from FOIA results, clearly indicates his
> actions were intentional. It gave the appearance that he was seeking
> to ensure the IC did not get too far ahead of the narrative he was
> generating with overseas partners like Jeremy Farrar and Edward
> Holmes; while making sophomoric attempts to publicly claim he did
> not have a hand in the findings from Kristian Andersen’s paper
> “The Proximal Origins of SARS-CoV-2.” Instead, he pressured the
> IC to meet with the paper’s authors and a curated list of
> supporters who also happened to receive NIAID funding and in some
> cases were part of the IC’s advisory body of scientists.

***

> [On] 4 June 2021, there was an interagency meeting which included
> Dr. Anthony Fauci. He provided specific guidance regarding the
> IC’s outreach efforts. The NIC officer in charge of the 90-day
> study proceeded to ensure Dr. Fauci’s recommendations were
> pursued.

***

> Sometime between 12 and 17 August 2021, the CIA changed its
> assessment from lab incident to a non-consensus determination. There
> is no indication based on the documents in DIG holdings to indicate
> why the assessment changed.

The whistleblower testimony raises serious questions about Fauci’s
contacts with the Intelligence Community and the process used to
determine which experts would advise intelligence officials about
Covid-19’s origins. The American people deserve to see the
underlying CIA records. If Fauci influenced the selection of experts
or the Intelligence Community’s analysis, the public has a right to
know exactly what happened and who was involved.

Our FOIA lawsuits and investigations have uncovered much of what the
public knows about many Covid-19 controversies:

In August 2026, we sued
[[link removed]]&H=9331d3f05ccabe8e82a99860298cd4957b7849996feac08f90c7979c3454725a the U.S.
Department of Justice for the contents of Fauci’s government-issued
cell phones. The phones were provided to former National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Fauci and later
reportedly recovered by the FBI (_Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of
Justice_
[[link removed] _
[[link removed]
1:26-cv-02812)).

In May 2026, we filed a post-hearing brief
[[link removed]]&H=a110f9a9fbd04c3d046bea16fb13cf9d19b2945f1430bfb3be18727891adb7b0
[[link removed] a FOIA
lawsuit on behalf of Open the Books, urging a federal court to compel
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to release unredacted records
showing royalty-related payments to government scientists, including
Fauci.

In April 2026, we sued
[[link removed]]&H=32c5d341006355babaf5efc76422f718c3a708e178cea6100a27c574ab84edce the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) for records and
communications of its employees with other government officials
regarding coronaviruses, the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), and
related Covid-19 research.

In March 2026, we sued
[[link removed]]&H=6f35f27a2dac2b7896fa22629f4b304d1d070146127a6cad1c8cd4f95d26ecd3 the U.S.
Department of Defense (War Department) for records on funding
proposals submitted to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) Biological Technologies Office prior to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Biological Technologies Office was launched
[[link removed]]&H=37f74b20fd142ae7523d92c34bb5f476187e44d98a1c0c2f65c2d4247067ae79
in 2014.

In June 2025, we sued
[[link removed]]&H=92b7147521389e608b999c7f5ac653ddc698f9d12a426e31021c24bf2ad07d48 the Defense
Department for all records regarding U.S. military personnel possibly
contracting Covid-19 in October 2019 during the World Military Games
in Wuhan, China. The lawsuit cited a December 2022 report
[[link removed]]&H=499b33c63fcfe8c75d31990f7f4b0b35c54369b34c0c24d2a8668688e43f1a16
issued by the Pentagon titled “Report to the Committees on Armed
Services of the Senate and House of Representatives: 2019 World
Military Games” which states that seven “service members who
attended the games exhibited Covid-19-like signs and/or symptoms”
during the time surrounding their attendance at the games.

In May 2025, we received records
[[link removed]]&H=9b67f4b4cb7bd8d2c8065796bb27490ce2a87f61d73c7a4274ba408f410e94e2
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that
revealed its plans to mandate Covid-19 vaccinations for 17 million
health care employees and that only one of 4,682 claims for injuries
and deaths due to Covid-19 “countermeasures” at the time was
compensated.

Records uncovered in 2024 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) through a FOIA request showed an April 2020 email exchange with
several officials in the bureau’s Newark Field Office referring to a
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grant to
the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China as including
“gain-of-function research
[[link removed]
which “would leave no signature of purposeful human manipulation.”

Records from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that a
Pfizer study surveyed 23 people in 2021 to gauge reactions to its
Covid vaccine booster before asking the FDA
[[link removed]]&H=1478493c35ac7192d0154763fff500925406107b0715fcfdf21241ca0bcc2fcd to approve it.

Records [[link removed]]&H=269cc55b1b79cd7fe53310a77ac398d35de1440289cd8a19ac6d4b42b0c70754 from the
Health and Human Services included the initial grant application and
annual reports to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from
EcoHealth Alliance [[link removed]],&H=3a4e8dae76925472dbb1b92e302ee818d65f301439bc3fdca21936852cb0e6a4 describing
the aim of its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology to create
mutant viruses “to better predict the capacity of our CoVs
[coronaviruses] to infect people.”

Health and Human Services records included emails
[[link removed]]&H=c7c6055f6a00dfff4c15fe4bb8a6fc93ac5f9af005ae6c7fc603b50ec72e820c of
then-Director of the National Institutes of Health Francis Collins
showing a British physicians’ group recommended the use of
Ivermectin to prevent and treat Covid-19.

Records
[[link removed]]&H=850d61da69680f96ce307df0d806f33d9e6f5ab099ec884713475c28b7ebb0a4
from Health and Human Services regarding data Moderna submitted to the
Food and Drug Administration on its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine indicated a
“statistically significant” number of rats were born with skeletal
deformations after their mothers were injected with the vaccine. The
documents also revealed Moderna elected not to conduct a number of
standard pharmacological studies on the laboratory test animals.

Food and Drug Administration records detailed pressure
[[link removed]]&H=e3012859b45d40e86c40e95c11452940dd584e4d0456d9b813e3252a7ef7d80e for
Covid-19 vaccine booster approval and use.

National Institutes of Health records revealed
[[link removed]]&H=21b20d7f3d0a3e373431486a0100267b6f313592a4130092e7dfec34ef6c9fb0 an FBI
“inquiry” into the NIH’s controversial bat coronavirus grant
tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The records also show
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
officials were concerned about “gain-of-function” research in
China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2016. The Fauci agency was
also concerned about EcoHealth Alliance’s
[[link removed]]&H=8f2bbaee149cdcae8a7253ef14f792ed9fa17b50c6c224ca4e9075839a6514db lack of compliance with reporting
rules and use of gain-of-function research in the NIH-funded research
involving bat coronaviruses in Wuhan, China.

Health and Human Services records revealed that from 2014 to 2019,
$826,277 [[link removed]]&H=ca73e4c04b8463f44a3d501b03305c75cb50e1f9f441b76c33d2201fc6ad4e9c was given
to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for bat coronavirus research by the
NIAID.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases records showed
that it gave nine China-related grants to EcoHealth Alliance
[[link removed]]&H=39289688f940a64556ad31a8414acdd3cc5bbea4958c841f39dc82c900df14b9 to research
coronavirus emergence in bats and was the National Institutes of
Health’s top issuer of grants to the Wuhan lab itself. The records
also included an email from the vice director of the Wuhan Lab asking
an NIH official for help finding disinfectants for decontamination of
airtight suits and indoor surfaces.

Health and Human Services records included an “urgent for Dr. Fauci
[[link removed] email chain,
citing ties between the Wuhan lab and the taxpayer-funded EcoHealth
Alliance [[link removed]].&H=ee101dcde7fd83142fa1ab60fc21d3d3326c586268093cc3e563c857e810a922 The government emails
also reported that the foundation of U.S. billionaire Bill Gates
worked closely with the Chinese government to pave the way for
Chinese-produced medications to be sold outside China and help
“raise China’s voice of governance by placing representatives from
China on important international councils as high level commitment
from China.”

Health and Human Services records included a grant application for
research involving the coronavirus that appeared to describe
“gain-of-function
[[link removed]
research involving RNA extractions from bats, experiments on viruses,
attempts to develop a chimeric virus and efforts to genetically
manipulate the full-length bat SARS-CoV WIV1 strain molecular clone.

Health and Human Services records showed the State Department and the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases knew immediately
in January 2020 that China was withholding Covid-19 data
[[link removed]],&H=e9bff15fef78bfd1db21a2a3878e0919710a234c25dcd707e41dde3eefea5728 which was
hindering risk assessment and response by public health officials.

University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) records
[[link removed]]&H=941c8abed44777216cee0f27313c6afe53c93f13cda0d6dc128ab7100099729e
showed the former director of the Galveston National Laboratory at the
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Dr. James W. Le Duc
[[link removed]]&H=00e5700bc1babc1534b62a058ee37316895029ea21f41d36e96ea11580e6384c warned Chinese
researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology of potential
investigations into the Covid issue by Congress.

Health and Human Services records regarding biodistribution studies
and related data for the Covid-19 vaccines showed a key component of
the vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs),
were found outside the injection site
[[link removed]],&H=e9dc0d4d03aac1b97221ad2e98fcc63a676088fd34c7d001229345a3551716de
mainly the liver, adrenal glands, spleen and ovaries of test animals,
eight to 48 hours after injection.

Records from the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) revealed safety
lapses
[[link removed]]&H=006448bc6a6db8e3586efaee9ac7d02d5b054ba20db4903f962f7f13980076a3
and violations at U.S. biosafety laboratories that conduct research on
dangerous agents and toxins.

Health and Human Services records included emails
[[link removed]]&H=428181e9560698ebe005ed44f3bc0bacd84510a16b408027ecf820e61cc74e66
between National Institutes of Health (NIH) then-Director Francis
Collins [[link removed]]&H=7273731d2f3b1a9040dad77bd3481b0d7ca1528575438b7ea53ee80f48404f6b and Fauci,
the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
about hydroxychloroquine and Covid-19.

Health and Human Services records showed that National Institutes of
Health officials tailored confidentiality forms
[[link removed]]&H=e0bcbe8714b6d5bbc216aed4dbb22b3ea10961057252a5dcf24aaf9791d7c56d to China’s terms
and that the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted an unreleased,
“strictly confidential” Covid-19 epidemiological analysis in
January 2020.

Fauci emails [[link removed]]&H=3b980aa93bd9c11f71703dbb8e7cb199aaac653e5c5d97b733b8cb2def75354d included
his approval of a press release supportive of China’s response to
the 2019 novel coronavirus.



Until next week,



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