Nunes To Haines - COVID-19

UNCLASSIFIED
May 16, 2021
The Honorable Avril Haines

Director of National Intelligence
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Director Haines:
During your April 15, 2021 World Wide Threats briefing before the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence, you indicated that Intelligence Community (IC) components
have coalesced around “two plausible theories” related to the origins of COVID-19 with “one of
them a laboratory accident.”
It is critical that we understand the origin of COVID-19 so that the United States
Government and the global community can take appropriate measures to reduce the likelihood of
another pandemic. Our prevention, preparedness, and surveillance activities must be informed by
such an understanding. Moreover, if human error contributed to the outbreak or its spread, we
must look hard at the root causes and implement the necessary public and international
mechanisms to prevent a reoccurrence.
In short, we need to understand what occurred in the Chinese province of Wuhan—the

origin of COVID-19—and what research was being conducted at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology (WIV). However, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has denied access to
independent investigators and taken other actions that hinder international probes of the COVID-
19 breakout. It is also telling that the PRC has engaged in a global disinformation campaign on
this topic, including the outrageous allegation that the virus was created by the United States.
These facts place significant responsibility on the IC to discover the truth of these matters.
As Members of Congress responsible for overseeing U.S. intelligence agencies, we

believe the IC failed to properly support policymakers with timely products and analysis.
Further, the IC has not been forthcoming about what processes it undertook to make seemingly
authoritative statements early in the pandemic about the origins of the virus—conclusions that
are now in question. This casts doubt on the validity of early judgments as well as the analytic
integrity of COVID-19-related intelligence reporting.
Moreover, evidence shows that the IC’s failures continued in the pandemic’s aftermath.
Specifically, 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.
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
Given your role in governing the IC, including the critical requirement of ensuring the
analytic integrity of intelligence reporting as documented by Intelligence Community Directive
203, I request that you address the following:
1. Please provide all IC reporting and products regarding the origins of COVID-19 not
already produced to the House Intelligence Committee. This should include any analytic
products produced by federally funded research and development centers or outside
experts. Should information be restricted and subject to limited dissemination, please
make arrangements to enable appropriately cleared staff to review the information.
2. Please provide all intelligence underlying the January 15, 2021 State Department Fact
Sheet (Activity of the Wuhan Institute of Virology) to include intelligence related to 1)
illnesses at the WIV; 2) WIV research on “RaTG13” and “Gain of Function”; and 3) secret
WIV links to military research.
3. Please provide the Committee any IC reporting concerning collaboration between the
WIV and the Chinese military.
4. Does the IC have any evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that COVID-19 occurred
naturally and spilled over directly from an intermediate host to humans in the fall of
2019?
5. Has the IC assessed the PRC’s compliance with Article X of the Biological Weapons
Convention? If so, please provide the committee that assessment.
6. Is the IC aware of collaboration between the WIV and its related entities or scientists and
foreign scientists? Has the IC produced threat assessments or other reports concerning
such activity?
7. Is the IC aware of any collaboration between the WIV and U.S. government entities or
persons, including any potential ties to the Chinese military? If so, did the IC produce
counterintelligence threat assessments or any other reports concerning such activity?
8. Was the IC involved in any interagency reviews concerning the appropriateness of U.S.
government funding of research conducted at the WIV and its related facilities?
9. Was the IC involved in any interagency reviews concerning Gain of Function research
and, specifically, the appropriateness of funding this research outside the United States or
in collaboration with foreign adversaries such as China? If so, was this involvement
documented and were any findings produced?
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
10. Has the IC assessed the risks associated with Gain of Function research by nation states
that are known to possess biological weapons capabilities?
11. Does the IC assess that Gain of Function research collaboration with China represents a
threat to U.S. national security? If not, what is the basis for such a view?
12. It is publicly documented that the National Institutes of Health and USAID have provided
funding to Chinese laboratories conducting dangerous dual-use research. Was the IC
consulted prior to approval of funding for this activity, and does the IC maintain an
ongoing review of the activity?
13. Has the IC produced an analysis on China’s adherence to international health regulations
in the wake of the COIV-19? If so, please provide it to the Committee.
14. Did the IC support the development of HHS guidelines that outline the risk assessment
and mitigation steps associated with Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens
(Department of Health and Human Services Framework for Guiding Funding Decisions
about Proposed Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens)?
15. Please provide the Committee any IC reporting concerning PRC reactions to the January
15, 2021 Department of State Fact Sheet regarding activity at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology.
16. According to press reports, the French General Directorate for External Security
expressed repeated concerns over French participation in the construction and
development of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Does the IC have any reporting to
corroborate these reports? If the General Directorate did express such concerns, was the
IC made aware of them, and did the IC concur?
17. Does the IC understand the full scope of dangerous research conducted at the WIV? What
are the IC’s knowledge gaps?
18. Did the IC seek participation from other U.S. federal departments or agencies in the
production of COVID-19 reporting and, if so, how was this accomplished?
19. Please provide the names of any outside infectious disease experts referenced in any IC
report related to origins of COVID-19, their curriculum vitae or resume, and the criterion
used to pick these particular experts.
20. How were outside experts vetted, including for potential conflicts of interest—such as
prior involvement with the Wuhan Institute of Virology—and what was the selection
process?
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
21. Who specifically was responsible for the selection of outside experts?
22. Has the IC organized or participated in any forums with outside experts on this topic? If
so, please describe the engagement(s).
23. Who are the members of the Biological Sciences Experts group?
24. NBC News reported on May 8, 2020, “Report says cellphone data suggests October
shutdown at Wuhan lab, but experts are skeptical.” What is the IC’s assessment
concerning an “October shutdown at the WIV”?
25. Given the fact that cooperation with China is not attainable, and if offered would be
unreliable, what investigative steps are planned to determine the cause of the COVID-19
outbreak?
I appreciate your assistance with this important matter. Given the scope of the request, I
understand the IC’s response may need to be provided in tranches. To facilitate the work of
Republican Members of the Committee, I request that you provide information beginning no
later than May 31, 2021. Please do not hesitate to contact Committee staff at (202) 225-4121
with any questions regarding this request.
CC: Mr. David M. Taylor

Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security
The Honorable William J. Burns
Director, Central Intelligence Agency
General Paul M. Nakasone
Director, National Security Agency
Lieutenant General Scott D. Berrier
Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
The Honorable Steven K. Black
Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Department of Energy
The Honorable Melissa Smislova
Acting Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security
The Honorable Kin Moy
Acting Assistant Secretary of State
The Honorable Michael Neufeld
Acting Assistant Secretary, Department of Treasury, Office of Intelligence and Analysis
Vice Admiral Robert Sharp
Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Dr. Christopher Scolese
Director, National Reconnaissance Office
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
The Honorable Christopher Wray

Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
UNCLASSIFIED

Nunes To Haines - COVID-19

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UNCLASSIFIED

May 16, 2021

The Honorable Avril Haines

Dear Director Haines:

In short, we need to understand what occurred in the Chinese province of Wuhan—the

As Members of Congress responsible for overseeing U.S. intelligence agencies, we

CC: Mr. David M. Taylor

The Honorable Christopher Wray

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