Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, is pushing President Joe Biden and his director of national intelligence Avril Haines to declassify intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
He called for a full investigation into the origins of COVID-19, as well as to release any information about the U.S funding the Wuhan lab. Even though the World Health organization China report claims that the virus was a jump from animals to humans, former Trump officials have pointed to a possible lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology as a highly plausible origin instead.
“We write to request that you initiate a whole-of-government effort to identify the origins of the virus and to direct federal agencies and departments to examine all plausible scenarios as part of such investigation. During the course of our investigation, which is ongoing, we have identified substantial circumstantial evidence supporting the theory that a laboratory leak could have been responsible for the origination of COVID-19,” Nunes wrote in a letter to Biden and Haines.
Nunes tells Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” that there’s “circumstantial evidence” that the coronavirus came from a lab and that money was flowed from the U.S government through non-profits to support this type of research in China. He accused the intelligence community of failing to provide timely investigation updates and not being “forthcoming” about the processes to make authoritative statements about the virus origins early on. These conclusions have now been doubted by state and local officials.
The letter addresses the doubt related to COVID-19 origins as well as the validity of their reporting early on. He said that the Chinese government has denied any access to independent investigators and that they have engaged in a “global disinformation campaign” on the topic.
“Republican Members are aware of allegations that the IC suppressed dissenting views related to the origins of the pandemic and that the community relied upon ‘outside’ experts with concerning yet undisclosed entanglements,” Nunes writes.
He also calls on the intelligence community to turn over any information related to COVID-19’s origins, as well as any collaborations between the Wuhan lab and the Chinese military. It asks for any evidence to prove that coronavirus broke out naturally and originated in animals, as well as addressing if the intelligence community was involved in any reviews of gain-of-function research.
Nunes shared with host Bartiromo there’s “zero evidence” that some dude ate a bat at a wet market and that dealing with lab leaks is incredibly dangerous and even relates to future biological warfare.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has also expressed deep concerns regarding the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation. He said that it is imperative to demand an independent investigation with expert findings free from intervention or alteration by the Chinese government.
Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Mike Braun introduced the Strategic Competition Act of 2021, which calls for the executive branch to produce a detailed analysis on the source of COVID-19. GOP Rep. Scott Perry also introduced the Defund the Wuhan Institute of Virology Act to ban any federal funding from going to the lab. Both bills will help force the Biden Administration to declassify any COVID-19 origins-related intelligence and conduct a credible investigation.
Why is the Biden Administration keeping this information classified? What happened to all of the transparency the Democrats promised? Biden’s allegiance to China is too strong, but the Americans deserve to know the truth. Accountability has been promised.
