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COVID-19

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Requests Unredacted Documents from HHS

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, has requested two unredacted documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in an effort to further investigate the origins of COVID-19 and the Communist Party of China's cover-up. The Select Subcommittee is seeking information on the Wuhan Institute of Virology and has accused HHS of stonewalling legitimate Congressional oversight by refusing to comply with previous requests for documents.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is investigating the origins of COVID-19, including the Chinese Communist Party's role in obscuring the truth regarding the initial outbreak.
  • Rep. Brad Wenstrup, chairman of the Select Subcommittee, has requested two unredacted documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assist in the investigation.
  • The documents requested include a report or memo regarding Dr. Cliff Lane's trip to China in February 2020 and a report or memo regarding Dr. Ping Chen's trip to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in October 2017.
  • HHS has refused to comply with previous requests for the documents, citing that the negotiation was "counterproductive to the [S]elect [S]ubcommittee's broader dealings with the Department."
  • The Select Subcommittee is also requesting a transcribed interview with Dr. Ping Chen, a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases employee who was stationed in China and toured the WIV in 2017.
  • The Select Subcommittee reserves the right to conduct follow-up interviews or request testimony from other witnesses pertinent to the investigation.

Statistics:

  • The Select Subcommittee has requested that the documents be produced by June 8, 2023.
  • The Select Subcommittee has also requested that Dr. Ping Chen participate in a voluntary transcribed interview beginning at 10:00 a.m. on June 12, 2023.
  • The Select Subcommittee has cited H. Res. 5 as authority to investigate the origins of the Coronavirus pandemic, including but not limited to the Federal Government's funding of gain-of function research.
  • House Rule X also authorizes the Committee on Oversight and Accountability to investigate "any matter" at "any time."

Sources:

  • Letter from Hon. Brad Wenstrup, et. al., Chairman, Select Subcomm. on the Coronavirus Pandemic, H. Comm. on Oversight & Accountability, to Hon. Xavier Becerra, Sec'y, U.S. Dep't of Health Human Servs. (February 13, 2023)
  • E-Mail from Select Subcomm. on the Coronavirus Pandemic Staff to U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Servs. Staff (May 24, 2023 11:18 a.m.)
  • Letter from Hon. Melanie Anne Egorin, Ass't Sec'y for Legislation, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Servs., to Hon. Brad Wenstrup, Chairman, Select Subcomm. on the Coronavirus Pandemic, H. Comm. on Oversight & Accountability (May 24, 2023)

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