Paul also released a 465-page "prequel," a collection of Fauci documents including records and email exchanges from 2001 to 2015. Paul alleges Fauci's notes show he covered up evidence supporting this "lab leak" theory. In his notes, Fauci writes "there was not total agreement" about the virus' origins during the call. The 'lab leak' theory and 'gain-of-function' controversyThe focus of the lab leak theory is the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. In 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy concluded, "with low confidence," COVID-19 originated from a lab leak.