July 23, 2026 – On April 10, 2026, Dr. Ralph Baric sat for a voluntary transcribed interview with Chairman Paul’s staff. Dr. Baric, of the University of North Carolina, is one of the scientists behind the DEFUSE gain-of-function proposal, a key contributor to NIAID funded projects in Wuhan, a member of the Biological Sciences Experts Group, and one of the world’s preeminent coronavirologists. He confirmed the furin cleavage site insertion was his job. He confirmed he ran an experiment that undercuts the core scientific defense of natural origin. And he still can’t explain how he ended up on the February 1, 2020 call with Dr. Fauci and the authors of “Proximal Origins.”