The federal government has been quietly sitting on a heap of documents about dangerous gain-of-function biological research — and Sen. Rand Paul says it’s failing to cough them up, despite that being in the public’s interest.

“What we’ve discovered is there’s a treasure trove of information about dangerous research all collected, sitting in one spot,” Paul (R-Ky.) told The Post in an exclusive interview.

He says those files could be key to unlocking exactly how COVID-19 started in Wuhan, China, and how US funds may have been involved, and he’s hopeful that the new Trump administration will help.

“We’re nearing the beginning of the real investigation because come January, with a friendly administration, we think we’re going to get all of this information,” he added.