House Judiciary and Oversight Committee Republicans launched a probe into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Wuhan Lab grant.
Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), ranking members of the House Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committee respectively, sent a letter to the director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, raising “concerns that EcoHealth Alliance knew of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to cover-up the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and failed to act or to inform the U.S. government,” Fox News reported.
“If U.S. taxpayer money was used to develop COVID-19, conduct gain of function research, or assist in any sort of cover-up, EcoHealth Alliance must be held accountable,” the ranking members wrote. “It is incumbent upon grant recipients to ensure their work is performed within the scope of the grant, advances our national interest, and protects our national security.”
The letter suggests the NIH, “received reports that the Wuhan Institute of Virology… has been conducting research at its facilities in China that pose serious bio-safety concerns, and, as a result, create health and welfare threats to the public in China and other countries, including the United States.”
“This investigation is more urgent now considering the recent report that, according to U.S. intelligence sources, three researchers from the WIV (Wuhan Institute of Virology) became ill and sought hospital care in November 2019… and did not report any COVID-19 cases until December 2019,” Jordan and Comer continued. “Based on this new timeline, it is likely COVID-19 was circulating worldwide three months before anyone outside of China was informed of its existence.
“Despite U.S. intelligence concerns about the ability of the WIV to properly contain the deadly diseases including the virus that causes COVID-19 they study, EcoHealth still awarded U.S. taxpayer grant funds to the WIV,” they explained. “Intelligence reports stated, ‘during interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, [U.S. officials] noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory.’”
The letter concluded:
To prevent future pandemics, Congress is obligated to conduct robust oversight of grant recipients, both current and historic. It is vital to understand if U.S. taxpayer funds were at all affiliated with a pandemic that has taken the lives of nearly 600,000 Americans so we can prevent similar future catastrophes.
The investigations come as Fauci admitted Tuesday the NIH funded the Wuhan lab, but he still denies “gain of function” research funding.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has stated that Fauci committed perjury May 12, over his gain of function comments related to Communist China’s lab.
Paul was asked on Real America’s Voice, “Do you believe he [Fauci] perjured himself?”
“Absolutely, he lied to the American people,” Paul said.
As American’s confidence in Fauci has plunged 42.2 percent in the past year, several Republicans on Wednesday demanded Fauci be fired over flip-flopping on Wuhan Lab funding.
Democrats have not called for Fauci’s firing but have supported calls for an investigation into the origins of the Chinese coronavirus in a move that perhaps throws Fauci under the bus.
“As we analyze what went wrong and what we can do in the future, we have to have answers to these questions, too,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Hillary Clinton’s running mate, stated May 26, before Friday’s letter. “And I think you’re going to see Congress addressing some of these matters as well. We’ve got to get to the bottom of it.”
“Understanding the origin and whether there was any nefarious activity in China is all part of that,” Kaine said.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) commented on potential action by the Democrat-controlled Senate by indicating China would face “devastating consequences” if the virus emanated from their lab.
“Sometimes we think we’ve solved a problem by empaneling an inquiry. You may never have the information necessary to know the source of this virus,” Murphy said. “And while that question is really important, there are other really important questions about why the United States didn’t stand up an adequate response that we need to deal with as well.”