The Pentagon’s silence over pre-COVID gain-of-function proposals is now facing a courtroom test that could expose what Washington wouldn’t answer under oath.
Quick Take
- Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Defense after seeking records of biodefense and gain-of-function funding proposals submitted to DARPA before December 2019.
- The case, Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Defense (No. 1:26-cv-00433), was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., after a November 7, 2025 request reportedly went unanswered.
- The requested records overlap with ongoing disputes about pandemic-era transparency and the U.S. government’s role in funding or reviewing risky virus research.
- The reporting highlights the 2018 “DEFUSE” proposal involving EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a focal point in broader COVID-19 origin debates.
What Judicial Watch Is Demanding From the Defense Department
Judicial Watch says it sued the Department of Defense after requesting “all biodefense and gain-of-function funding proposals” submitted to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Biological Technologies Office before December 2019 and receiving no response. The lawsuit is filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and identifies the case as No. 1:26-cv-00433. The core issue is straightforward: a watchdog group is using FOIA to force disclosure of records the public cannot currently review.
The request matters because it targets the pre-pandemic pipeline—what was being proposed, who proposed it, and what federal officials saw before COVID-19 became a global crisis. Even if some records are classified or redacted for national security, basic accountability questions remain. FOIA exists to prevent agencies from simply running out the clock while taxpayers are left guessing. The sources provided do not include the Defense Department’s explanation for the reported non-response.
Why “Gain-of-Function” and DARPA’s Bio Office Keep Coming Up
DARPA launched the Biological Technologies Office in 2014 to advance biotechnology with defense applications, a mission area that can include work designed to anticipate or counter biological threats. Gain-of-function research—often described as work that can increase transmissibility or virulence of pathogens—has long been controversial, and U.S. funding for some types of research was paused from 2014 to 2017 due to risk concerns, then later resumed under revised frameworks. Those policy swings helped fuel public distrust during the pandemic.
The reporting also points to the “DEFUSE” proposal submitted in 2018 by EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. According to the provided research summary, the proposal sought U.S. support for engineering chimeric viruses similar in concept to SARS-CoV-2, and it was rejected by DARPA. The same summary states that at least 15 federal agencies were aware of the proposal, a claim attributed to Sen. Rand Paul’s oversight efforts. The evidence base here is largely document-driven and still incomplete.
The Lawsuit’s Timeline and What’s Verifiably Known So Far
Judicial Watch says it submitted the FOIA request on November 7, 2025, then filed suit in early March 2026 after the agency did not provide the requested records. The sources reflect a minor timing discrepancy in public announcements—some references point to March 2 while others indicate March 6—but they align on the key facts: the request date, the court venue, and the case number. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton is quoted saying gain-of-function proposals were “likely active pre-pandemic” and that the lawsuit aims to learn what they entailed.
Notably, the provided research does not include independent expert review of the specific proposals sought in the FOIA request, nor does it include the Defense Department’s statement explaining any delay, exemptions, or processing status. That limitation matters because gain-of-function debates often blur together separate programs across agencies. What the lawsuit can potentially clarify is narrower and more concrete: which proposals were submitted to DARPA’s bio office, what was requested, and what records exist that can be released under FOIA.
What’s at Stake for Oversight, Taxpayers, and Public Trust
If the court forces disclosure, the documents could intensify the long-running COVID origin debate by establishing who in government reviewed what kinds of work before the outbreak. If the documents are heavily withheld, the case could still shape future expectations about how quickly defense agencies must respond to FOIA requests involving biodefense. For conservatives who watched bureaucracies expand power during COVID while dodging accountability, the underlying concern is constitutional in spirit: an executive branch that refuses transparency erodes informed consent of the governed.
Legal watchdog Judicial Watch sues Department of Defense for gain-of-function records https://t.co/UMzhZqgvMt
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) March 7, 2026
At the same time, the sources do not establish that any specific pre-2019 proposal caused COVID-19, and the DEFUSE proposal is described as rejected. The more immediate, documentable issue is whether federal agencies complied with basic transparency duties and whether Congress can effectively oversee biodefense activities that carry high consequence risks. In 2026, with a new administration and renewed oversight priorities, this lawsuit is a test of whether entrenched agencies can still stonewall without consequences.
Sources:
Legal watchdog Judicial Watch sues Department of Defense for gain-of-function records
Judicial Watch Sues for Gain-of-Function Records
