World

FOIA Investigation Reveals Anthony Fauci’s NIAID & USAID Funded High-Risk Coronavirus Research By Wuhan’s ‘Patient Zero’

February 4, 2025
The Commune

A newly released Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) investigation by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW) has revealed that U.S. government agencies provided significant funding to Ben Hu, a Wuhan-based scientist now identified as COVID-19’s “Patient Zero.” Leaked U.S. intelligence confirms Hu was the first person to fall ill at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) before the pandemic officially began.

U.S. Taxpayer Funds Tied To Wuhan Lab Experiments

Documents obtained by WCW through a FOIA lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirm that Hu was conducting gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses using U.S. taxpayer funds. These grants were issued through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), formerly led by Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

According to federal accounting records, over $41 million was allocated to projects involving Hu and his team. Due to reporting loopholes and conflicting data from EcoHealth Alliance, the exact portion of these funds directed specifically to Hu remains unclear. However, the funding was scheduled to continue until 2024, had it not been terminated in early 2020 following WCW’s revelations.

Newly Leaked Intelligence Identifies Sick Wuhan Lab Scientists

The identity of Wuhan Institute staff members who reportedly fell ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019 had been withheld by both the U.S. and Chinese governments—until now. A U.S. intelligence source has confirmed with “100% certainty” that three WIV researchers, Ben Hu, Yu Ping, and Yan Zhu, were hospitalized with severe illness in late 2019.

This aligns with earlier reports from January 2021, in which the U.S. State Department disclosed that Wuhan lab staffers involved in coronavirus experiments developed COVID-like symptoms before the virus was officially recognized. Additional accounts indicated that one of the researchers’ wives died in December 2019 from a similar illness.

Dangerous Research Conducted Without Adequate Protection

A 2017 video from Chinese state-run media shows Hu and fellow virologist Shi Zhengli—known as “Bat Woman” for her work on bat viruses—handling bats and lab specimens without sufficient protective gear. Intelligence findings suggest that Hu led Wuhan’s gain-of-function research on SARS-like coronaviruses using humanized mice to enhance the viruses’ transmissibility.

Federal Funding for Wuhan Lab Experiments Exposed

The WCW investigation highlights how U.S. taxpayer dollars funded risky virus research at WIV, including:

  • The collection of wild coronaviruses from bats in remote Chinese caves.
  • The transportation of these viruses to a laboratory in Wuhan.
  • Gain-of-function experiments designed to make these viruses more infectious to humans.
  • The subsequent infection of Wuhan lab staffers, followed by a cover-up of their medical records and identities.

The newly uncovered federal grants reveal that NIAID and USAID funded Hu’s work at WIV despite long-standing concerns over biosafety and transparency. The grants were ultimately revoked after WCW intervened in 2020.

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