The House subcommittee probing the COVID-19 origins is pressing for access to Dr. Anthony Fauci’s personal email and phone records following revelations of “secret back channel” communications.
Brad Wenstrup, Chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, has formally requested Fauci’s private records from January 1, 2020, onwards concerning the pandemic’s origins.
Wenstrup also sought information on records involving EcoHealth Alliance, a suspended federal grantee, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which is now debarred.
In response to inquiries about potential subpoenas if Fauci declines the request, Wenstrup mentioned past instances where subpoena power was utilized when records were denied or delayed.
The subcommittee holds the authority to issue subpoenas, but a procedural process is required. This process involves consulting the panel’s general counsel in cases where requests for records are disregarded.
Although Fauci has retired, he is scheduled to appear before the COVID subcommittee on June 3 to address inquiries about the substantial NIH grants awarded to EcoHealth.
Revelatory emails from Dr. David Morens, a former chief adviser to Fauci, revealed his involvement in concealing critical COVID information through private channels. Morens admitted to using a private email account to bypass FOIA requests and strategized to protect Fauci from scrutiny.
Morens initially dismissed the emails as a “joke” but later acknowledged sending information to Fauci’s personal email. The House subcommittee expressed serious concerns over public health officials withholding information from the American public.
NIH principal deputy director Dr. Lawrence Tabak confirmed federal grants supported gain-of-function research at the WIV, contradicting previous denials.
EcoHealth received over half a million dollars from the NIH, which was then funneled to the WIV for a project titled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence” spanning from 2014 to 2019.
The project involved genetic manipulation to create hybrid bat coronaviruses with strains of SARS and MERS viruses, as detailed in a Government Accountability Office report.
In a letter to Congress dated October 2021, Tabak disclosed that the experiments conducted had led to a modified virus that was 10,000 times more contagious, a clear breach of EcoHealth’s grant conditions.
While Tabak highlighted the genetic disparity between these viruses and COVID-19, subsequent scrutiny has been directed at other grant proposals from EcoHealth due to genetic similarities with SARS-CoV-2.
Recent assessments from various agencies and officials point to the likelihood of COVID-19 originating from a laboratory leak. Daszak admitted during his testimony to not receiving virus sequences from the Wuhan lab before the pandemic.
EcoHealth’s grant faced suspension, reinstatement, and subsequent suspension, leading to potential prosecution for alleged false statements. The House COVID subcommittee is considering referring EcoHealth and Daszak to the Justice Department.
