Scalise & Comer Renew Call for Democrats to Investigate COVID-19 Origins
Dr. Fauci’s recently released emails make it imperative for him to testify
WASHINGTON—Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) today renewed their request to Democrat leadership on both panels to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable.
On May 24, 2021, Ranking Members Scalise and Comer called on Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chairman James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to investigate the origins of COVID-19, but they have refused. This week, thousands of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails were released via the Freedom of Information Act and contain new evidence regarding the origins of COVID-19, including the possibility it leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“We renew our request that you immediately convene hearings to examine the origins of COVID-19, the possibility that it leaked from a CCP-controlled laboratory, and any involvement of U.S. taxpayer funds,” wrote Scalise and Comer. “It is now imperative that Dr. Fauci come before our Committees to provide information related to the origins of the novel coronavirus as well as the U.S. government’s role in funding research that may have contributed to the development of the novel coronavirus. The American people have a right to know what our government knew about the origins of the pandemic and when it was known.”
Below is the full text of the letter.
June 3, 2021
Dear Chairman Clyburn and Chairwoman Maloney:
On May 24, 2021, we wrote to you requesting you to join House Republican efforts to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its role in unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic. You have ignored that request.
Recent reporting makes this request even more urgent. Just yesterday, thousands of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s emails were released via the Freedom of Information Act. His emails debunk many Democrats’ claims from the past year that he and other Administration scientists were “muzzled” by the Trump Administration. More importantly, the emails contain new evidence regarding the origins of COVID-19, including the possibility it leaked from a U.S. taxpayer funded laboratory.
It is now imperative that Dr. Fauci come before our Committees to provide information related to the origins of the novel coronavirus as well as the U.S. government’s role in funding research that may have contributed to the development of the novel coronavirus. The American people have a right to know what our government knew about the origins of the pandemic and when it was known.
Therefore, we renew our request that you immediately convene hearings to examine the origins of COVID-19, the possibility that it leaked from a CCP-controlled laboratory, and any involvement of U.S. taxpayer funds. Additionally, we request that you demand unredacted versions of all of Dr. Fauci’s recently released emails. Your continued inaction while facing mounting evidence of the CCP’s malicious conduct is concerning. Thank you for your attention to this important inquiry.
Sincerely,
Steve J. Scalise, Ranking Member, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
James Comer, Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight and Reform