In a sign the fallout from the federal government's role in the global COVID-19 pandemic is just starting, a key congressional panel is recommending a key scientist be criminally investigated after it found the virus originated in research funded by American taxpayers at the direction of now-former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
A U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing titled “A Hearing with the President of EcoHealth Alliance, Dr. Peter Daszak” examined “EcoHealth Alliance's (EcoHealth) use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).”
The panel found Daszak misled Congress in previous interviews about his research and the actual origins of the COVID-19 virus, which appears to have originated in a Chinese laboratory through research funded by American taxpayers.
“This hearing also served to hold Dr. Daszak publicly accountable for discrepancies between his closed-door transcribed interview and available evidence,” the Select Subcommittee reports. “Prior to the hearing, the Select Subcommittee released a new, interim report which revealed that Dr. Daszak repeatedly violated the terms of the NIH grant awarded to EcoHealth.”
“The report recommended the formal debarment of and a criminal investigation into EcoHealth and Dr. Daszak,” the Select Subcommittee announced in a stunning statement.
“During the hearing, members questioned Dr. Daszak about the findings of this report, pressed him to explain EcoHealth's relationship with the WIV, and scrutinized his abuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous, potentially pandemic-causing research. Staff from both the majority and the minority grilled Daszak on his less than forthcoming testimony to Congress and described evidence showing EcoHealth ‘absolutely' facilitated ‘gain-of-function' research at the WIV on the American taxpayer's dime,” the Select Subcommittee reports.
A statement released by the Select Subcommittee finds:
Dr. Daszak is not a faithful steward of U.S. taxpayer dollars and should never again receive funding from the federal government.
* Members of both the majority and the minority agree that EcoHealth has not been transparent with the American people.
Dr. Daszak failed to defend his public position that EcoHealth has never facilitated gain-of-function research at the WIV.
* The Select Subcommittee's staff report revealed that research facilitated by EcoHealth — with U.S. tax dollars — was conducted at the WIV and qualified as gain-of-function research.
* When Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Ny.) confronted Dr. Daszak with the broadly understood definition of gain-of-function as “a type of research that modifies a biological agent so that it confers new and enhanced activity to that agent,” he played semantics with the definition and falsely denied that EcoHealth has ever conducted this type of research.
Dr. Daszak admitted that “of course” the WIV could have hidden coronavirus samples and that he does “not know” if the WIV has the ability to genetically modify viruses without leaving a trace.
* However, he curiously maintains the posture that COVID-19 originated in nature and not from the WIV.
Dr. Daszak was unable to reconcile major discrepancies between his closed-door testimony and evidence reviewed by the Select Subcommittee.
* During his transcribed interview in November 2023, Dr. Daszak told the Select Subcommittee that EcoHealth intended to conduct research for his highly controversial DEFUSE proposal — which some believe created a blueprint for COVID-19 — in the United States, not at the WIV. This statement was directly contradicted by evidence reviewed and presented by the Select Subcommittee.
* Dr. Daszak was unable to clarify this discrepancy to Members and staff during his testimony, leading the Select Subcommittee to believe Dr. Daszak may have been dishonest with Congress.
Dr. Daszak's testimony confirmed he repeatedly misled the U.S. government by downplaying his relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
* When NIH reinstated Dr. Daszak's grant in 2023, it was under the impression that EcoHealth Alliance was no longer working with the WIV.
* During his testimony, Dr. Daszak revealed that the WIV is still in possession of coronavirus samples that may belong to the U.S. government stating, “To the last of my knowledge, they were in the freezers in Wuhan — over 15,000 of them.”
The Select Subcommittee warns it “will take further steps to address Dr. Daszak's contempt for the American people.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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