section_path: Foreign policy positions/Russian invasion of Ukraine/Controversy about US biological research in Ukraine
section_name: Controversy about US biological research in Ukraine
paragraph_text: Controversy about US biological research in Ukraine
  
  On March 9, 2022, Tucker Carlson, after airing a video of the State Department's Victoria Nuland saying "e are now quite concerned Russian troops... may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces", asked Gabbard "How concerned are you that... there are unsecured bio agents, dangerous bio agents in Ukraine?" Gabbard responded: "I'm extremely concerned.... The seriousness of this situation really can't be overstated.... We have these pathogens in the midst of a war zone between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine. This is a global crisis."
  
  On March 13. Gabbard reiterated the urgency, noting that "According to the U.S. government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens". She declared "If they are inadvertently or purposely breached or compromised, they will quickly spread … Instead of trying to cover this up, the Biden-Harris Administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire … in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and these pathogens are destroyed."
  
  Later that day, Forbes reported "Tulsi Gabbard shared false information Sunday about U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological laboratories.... here's no evidence of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine and the U.S. has consistently denied doing so." Shortly thereafter, Mitt Romney tweeted "Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives." Rep. Adam Kinzinger accused Gabbard of spreading "actual Russian propaganda. Traitorous." In response to Carlson asking what her response would be to Romney, Gabbard said:
  
  This is about facts.... They're accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens; that if those labs are breached,... this is a dangerous crisis that needs to be addressed immediately.... The second thing they're saying is they deny... these biolabs are even there,... when... officials from our own government — Department of State, Department of Defense, and so on — are saying these biolabs in Ukraine have dangerous pathogens and we're very concerned that they may be breached.
  
  That same day, Gabbard tweeted to Romney, asking him to "provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous.... Evidence of the existence of such biolabs, their vulnerability, and thus the need to take immediate action to secure them is beyond dispute", citing Senate testimony by Victoria Nuland, a Pentagon Fact sheet, CBS Face the Nation, a CNN fact-check, and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, which acknowledged there are U.S. funded labs in Ukraine working with pathogens. (Bioweapons being produced in Ukraine has been debunked as disinformation by multiple media outlets, scientific groups, and international bodies.)
  
  On March 14, Whoopi Goldberg on The View accused Gabbard of spreading "false Russian propaganda". That same day, Newsweek noted that "Gabbard had asserted, accurately, that the U.S. funds bio labs in Ukraine, not bio weapons labs", but that a number of people had criticized Gabbard for, in their view, appearing to echo falsehoods being peddled by Russia. Newsweek also noted her appearance on Carlson's show had been shown on Russian media.
  
  That evening, Gabbard tweeted she was not convinced there are biological weapons ("bioweapons") in Ukraine, but she was concerned about existence of biological labs in a warzone, noting she had said two days prior that the "biolabs in Ukraine... if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world". She also noted that "'iolabs', 'bioweapons labs', and 'bioweapons' are 3 very different things. But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them," and so used the tweet to clarify the distinctions among the terms.
  
  On March 15, Newsweek reported that Gabbard had "clarified her comments about biolabs"; Newsweek also misquoted her as having said, in her March 9 Tucker Carlson Show appearance, that she was "'deeply concerned' over claims about biological weapons in Ukraine", whereas what she had told Carlson was that she was "extremely concerned" about "dangerous bio agents". Philip Bump of The Washington Post questioned Gabbard's claim that the U.S. was "trying to cover this up," asking, "Cover what up? The agreement that’s been in place for years focused on the labs that have been public for just as long?" while accusing her of "generating attention and engagement" by "amplifying this negative and misleading assertion about the U.S. government."
  
  On August 30, 2024, Dana Milbank wrote in a Washington Post op-ed: "Gabbard endorsed Russian propaganda in falsely claiming the United States was funding biological laboratories in Ukraine that could spread dangerous pathogens."
  
  After Trump nominated Gabbard for DNI on November 13, 2024, several news organizations reported that, in 2022, Gabbard had accused the US of running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine; several others said she had clarified or "walked back" her remarks. AP reported Gabbard had "endorsed... Ukraine was using the labs to create deadly bioweapons." ABC reported Gabbard had "expressed concerns that Ukraine was in possession of biological weapons" and that she had "posted a video... about U.S.-funded biolabs 'could easily be compromised' – a debunked theory". The Washington Post said Gabbard had "come under scrutiny for propagating alleged presence of 25 or more U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine with the potential to spread deadly pathogens". Two days prior to Gabbard's hearing before the SSIC, U.S. News & World Report said Gabbard "initially endorsed" the Russian theory that "U.S.-funded laboratories... were working on deadly viruses that could be used as bioweapons". The day prior to the hearing, AP said Gabbard had "echo similar Russian conspiracy theories" and the Independent said she "appeared to fall for … conspiracy theories promoted by Russia" and "later walked back those remarks".
  
  On February 11, 2025, during Senate consideration of the nomination of Gabbard for DNI, Senator Jack Reed said: "As... Mitt Romney tweeted, she made... bogus claims; Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."
  
  On March 9, 2022, Tucker Carlson, after airing a video of the State Department's Victoria Nuland saying "e are now quite concerned Russian troops... may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces", asked Gabbard "How concerned are you that... there are unsecured bio agents, dangerous bio agents in Ukraine?" Gabbard responded: "I'm extremely concerned.... The seriousness of this situation really can't be overstated.... We have these pathogens in the midst of a war zone between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine. This is a global crisis."
  
  On March 13. Gabbard reiterated the urgency, noting that "According to the U.S. government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens". She declared "If they are inadvertently or purposely breached or compromised, they will quickly spread … Instead of trying to cover this up, the Biden-Harris Administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire … in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and these pathogens are destroyed."
  
  Later that day, Forbes reported "Tulsi Gabbard shared false information Sunday about U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological laboratories.... here's no evidence of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine and the U.S. has consistently denied doing so." Shortly thereafter, Mitt Romney tweeted "Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives." Rep. Adam Kinzinger accused Gabbard of spreading "actual Russian propaganda. Traitorous." In response to Carlson asking what her response would be to Romney, Gabbard said:
  
  This is about facts.... They're accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens; that if those labs are breached,... this is a dangerous crisis that needs to be addressed immediately.... The second thing they're saying is they deny... these biolabs are even there,... when... officials from our own government — Department of State, Department of Defense, and so on — are saying these biolabs in Ukraine have dangerous pathogens and we're very concerned that they may be breached.
  
  That same day, Gabbard tweeted to Romney, asking him to "provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous.... Evidence of the existence of such biolabs, their vulnerability, and thus the need to take immediate action to secure them is beyond dispute", citing Senate testimony by Victoria Nuland, a Pentagon Fact sheet, CBS Face the Nation, a CNN fact-check, and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, which acknowledged there are U.S. funded labs in Ukraine working with pathogens. (Bioweapons being produced in Ukraine has been debunked as disinformation by multiple media outlets, scientific groups, and international bodies.)
  
  On March 14, Whoopi Goldberg on The View accused Gabbard of spreading "false Russian propaganda". That same day, Newsweek noted that "Gabbard had asserted, accurately, that the U.S. funds bio labs in Ukraine, not bio weapons labs", but that a number of people had criticized Gabbard for, in their view, appearing to echo falsehoods being peddled by Russia. Newsweek also noted her appearance on Carlson's show had been shown on Russian media.
  
  That evening, Gabbard tweeted she was not convinced there are biological weapons ("bioweapons") in Ukraine, but she was concerned about existence of biological labs in a warzone, noting she had said two days prior that the "biolabs in Ukraine... if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world". She also noted that "'iolabs', 'bioweapons labs', and 'bioweapons' are 3 very different things. But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them," and so used the tweet to clarify the distinctions among the terms.
  
  On March 15, Newsweek reported that Gabbard had "clarified her comments about biolabs"; Newsweek also misquoted her as having said, in her March 9 Tucker Carlson Show appearance, that she was "'deeply concerned' over claims about biological weapons in Ukraine", whereas what she had told Carlson was that she was "extremely concerned" about "dangerous bio agents". Philip Bump of The Washington Post questioned Gabbard's claim that the U.S. was "trying to cover this up," asking, "Cover what up? The agreement that’s been in place for years focused on the labs that have been public for just as long?" while accusing her of "generating attention and engagement" by "amplifying this negative and misleading assertion about the U.S. government."
  
  On August 30, 2024, Dana Milbank wrote in a Washington Post op-ed: "Gabbard endorsed Russian propaganda in falsely claiming the United States was funding biological laboratories in Ukraine that could spread dangerous pathogens."
  
  After Trump nominated Gabbard for DNI on November 13, 2024, several news organizations reported that, in 2022, Gabbard had accused the US of running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine; several others said she had clarified or "walked back" her remarks. AP reported Gabbard had "endorsed... Ukraine was using the labs to create deadly bioweapons." ABC reported Gabbard had "expressed concerns that Ukraine was in possession of biological weapons" and that she had "posted a video... about U.S.-funded biolabs 'could easily be compromised' – a debunked theory". The Washington Post said Gabbard had "come under scrutiny for propagating alleged presence of 25 or more U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine with the potential to spread deadly pathogens". Two days prior to Gabbard's hearing before the SSIC, U.S. News & World Report said Gabbard "initially endorsed" the Russian theory that "U.S.-funded laboratories... were working on deadly viruses that could be used as bioweapons". The day prior to the hearing, AP said Gabbard had "echo similar Russian conspiracy theories" and the Independent said she "appeared to fall for … conspiracy theories promoted by Russia" and "later walked back those remarks".
  
  On February 11, 2025, during Senate consideration of the nomination of Gabbard for DNI, Senator Jack Reed said: "As... Mitt Romney tweeted, she made... bogus claims; Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."