Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and James Comer of Kentucky are at it again, ripping into Anthony Fauci and demanding answers from him, along with other Biden officials, as to the origins of Covid and US funding of gain of function research in Wuhan, China.
Commenting on that upcoming investigation and what they hope to uncover in a recently released statement, Rep. James Comer said:
“Discovering the origin of COVID-19 is vital to providing accountability and protecting Americans in the future. Mounting evidence points to the virus originating from a leak at the Wuhan lab. EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S. National Institutes of Health grantee, passed taxpayer funds to the Wuhan lab to conduct gain of function research on bat coronaviruses – research that may have started the pandemic. Dr. Fauci was warned early on that the virus appeared man made and pointed to a lab leak and instead of blowing the whistle may have attempted to cover it up.
“The American people deserve answers and accountability. We will continue to follow the facts to determine what, if anything, could have been done differently to guard against the harms Americans have endured during the pandemic. We will continue this oversight to hold U.S. government officials accountable for any wrongdoing and ensure Americans’ tax dollars aren’t being used on risky research at unsecure labs.”
Rep. Jim Jordan spoke about the issue as well, saying:
“The American people deserve the facts and the truth about the origins of COVID-19. COVID-19 disrupted our lives and livelihoods for over two years: kids couldn’t go to school, small businesses and churches were closed, our economy tanked, and our freedoms were restricted. If we had known the truth about the virus’s origins, we could have combatted the virus in a more meaningful way at the outset of the pandemic. It is our Constitutional duty to conduct oversight and thoroughly examine the facts so this type of gain-of-function research and bad behavior never happens again.”
In the press release on the investigation into Fauci and other top Biden officials, the Republican’s Committee on Oversight office said:
House Oversight Committee Republicans’ investigation has already uncovered three key facts: growing evidence shows COVID-19 likely originated from the Wuhan Lab and the Chinese Communist Party covered it up; U.S. taxpayer dollars were being funneled to the Wuhan Lab to conduct risky experimental research on novel bat coronaviruses; and Dr. Fauci was aware of this information at the start of the pandemic and may have acted to conceal the information by intentionally downplaying the lab leak theory. More information is needed to further the investigation and inform legislative solutions.
This isn’t the first time Reps. Comer and Jordan have pressured Fauci and others for answers about Wuhan and US funding of gain of function research. Writing in July of 2021, they said:
“NIAID funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and this research did not go through the proper oversight. It is unclear why you would continue to testify otherwise. We therefore ask you again to please clarify what you meant when you said twice—under oath—'[t]he NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the [WIV].’”
“In three days, with no explanation as to why, you flipped your perspective entirely and began calling a theory you lent credence to only days earlier a ‘crackpot theory.’ It would appear the primary intervening event was the February 1 conference call with Dr. Fauci. We are very interested in understanding what happened on that call or what science came to light that caused such a dramatic change in your own hypothesis as to the engineering of COVID-19.”
It remains to be seen if these newest demands lead to anything more substantive than the nothing achieved by that 2021 letter. Perhaps they will now that the GOP barely controls the House.
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