By Casey Harper (The Central Square)
A Republican-led congressional committee says a scientist and top adviser to Anthony Fauci used his personal email to hide evidence related to the origins of COVID-19.
Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, sent a letter to the National Emerging Infectious Disease Institute requesting more information about these communications.
“The Select Subcommittee is now aware of potential further attempts by Dr. [David] Morens to subvert public transparency,” the letter reads. “Specifically, the Select Subcommittee was made aware of alleged communications between you and Dr. Morens regarding the EcoHealth Alliance.
“These communications included emails from Dr. [David] Morens’ personal Gmail account to you and Dr. Peter Daszak of EcoHealth,” the letter adds.
Critics say using a personal email account allowed Morens to avoid having his emails obtained by official document requests.
At least some of the email exchanges, delivered by a whistleblower, were with Dr. Peter Daszak, who leads EcoHealth, the controversial research group accused of playing a role in creating COVID-19.
The federal government has denied claims that partially taxpayer-funded EcoHealth played a role in the origin of COVID.
EcoHealth is a non-profit US research company that has used taxpayer-funded grants to carry out coronavirus research.
Federal records show that EcoHealth was conducting coronavirus research involving bats in China when the pandemic erupted.
As previously The Center Square reporteda federal grant database reports that the same group has received millions in taxpayer funds from the federal government over the past decade to research coronaviruses that originate in animals and can in some cases spread to humans.
A highly controversial part of the investigation is whether the EcoHealth Alliance’s research involved making coronaviruses more dangerous to humans.
As lawmakers delved deeper into the issue, they raised more questions.
“In today’s letter to Dr. Keusch and Boston University, President Wenstrup requests the production of all documents and communications related to correspondence with Dr. Morens, Dr. Daszak, and other individuals and entities with knowledge of and access to the origins of COVID-19 material,” Wenstrup’s office said. “This letter continues our investigation into the potential cover-up of information about the origin of COVID-19 by American public health authorities.”
EcoHealth released a statement after initial reports of these emails dismissing many of the claims and releasing what it says are the original emails in question in a news story publication.
“These reports do not show the full text of the emails in question, but claim they are part of a cover-up or represent inappropriate communications,” the group said in a statement. “Contrary to reported reports, they clearly show that EcoHealth Alliance was communicating appropriately with senior NIH staff, or who had previously worked at NIH, to try to identify ways to reinstate a grant that had been unexpectedly terminated and arbitrarily, then suspended with onerous conditions. The grant was later reinstated by the NIH, and the EcoHealth Alliance is currently working under this grant to conduct critical scientific research to prevent future pandemics.”
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in particular, has been outspoken on this issue, saying that more than a dozen federal agencies were aware that federally funded research was being conducted in China on coronaviruses to make them more dangerous .
“The newly obtained documents confirm once again that Fauci lied about COVID. Fauci’s NIH lab partnered with Wuhan on a proposal to engineer a highly transmissible coronavirus in 2018,” Paul wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But he wasn’t alone, 15 government agencies knew about it and said nothing. Americans deserve answers.”
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.