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  • Nunes To Biden - COVID-19

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    The letter requests that President Biden initiate a whole-of-government investigation into the origins of COVID-19. It cites substantial evidence that the virus could have originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China and calls for all plausible scenarios to be examined. The letter also notes U.S. government funding of dangerous research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and calls for a review of funding interagency processes for dual-use research with foreign adversaries.

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    This is a letter from Rep. Devin Nunes to President Joe Biden.

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    Nunes to Biden - COVID-19

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    The letter requests that President Biden initiate a whole-of-government investigation into the origins of COVID-19. It cites substantial evidence that the virus could have originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China and calls for all plausible scenarios to be examined. The letter also notes U.S. government funding of dangerous research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and calls for a review of funding interagency processes for dual-use research with foreign adversaries.

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    66K views2 pages

    Nunes To Biden - COVID-19

    Uploaded by

    Washington Examiner
    The letter requests that President Biden initiate a whole-of-government investigation into the origins of COVID-19. It cites substantial evidence that the virus could have originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China and calls for all plausible scenarios to be examined. The letter also notes U.S. government funding of dangerous research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and calls for a review of funding interagency processes for dual-use research with foreign adversaries.

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    UNCLASSIFIED

    May 16, 2021

    The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.


    President of the United States
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
    Washington, DC 20500

    Dear Mr. President:

    As part of our ongoing oversight investigation related to Chinese threats to U.S.


    economic and national security, Republican Members of the House Permanent Select Committee
    on Intelligence are investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was first reported
    in Wuhan, China in 2019. 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.i It is critical that this possibility be thoroughly examined,
    particularly in light of the Chinese government’s obstruction of multilateral bio-forensic
    investigations and its destruction of important evidence.ii
    A senior Administration official has confirmed our finding that the origin of COVID-19
    could have been the result of a lab leak. In April, the Director of National Intelligence explained
    that either “[COVID-19] emerged naturally from human contact with infected animals or it was
    the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”iii It is unclear, however, if the Intelligence
    Community or any other part of the U.S. government is seeking to determine the truth.
    We concur with the assessment of Secretary of State Antony Blinken who recently stated
    that the origin of COVID-19 is important “because we need to understand what happened if we are
    going to have the best possible opportunity to prevent it from happening again, and to make sure we
    can put in place an even stronger global health security system, to make sure that we can prevent,

    i “Should we discount the laboratory origin of COVID-19?” Environmental Chemistry Letters, Segreto, R., Deigin, Y., McCairn,
    K. et al., March 25, 2021; “The origin of COVID: Did people or nature open Pandora’s box at Wuhan?” Nicholas Wade, May 5,
    2021, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; “Call for a Full and Unrestricted, International Forensic Investigation into the Origins of
    COVID-19,” Colin D. Butler, Henri Cap, et al, April 7, 2021; and “Investigate the Origins of COVID-19,” Jesse D. Bloom, Yujia
    Alina Chan, Ralph S. Baric, et al., May 14, 2021.
    ii “COVID BOMBSHELL WHO chief orders new probe into Wuhan lab leak theory as he rubbishes his own team’s whitewash

    Covid report,” Henry Holloway, The Sun, March 30, 2021; “Call for a Full and Unrestricted, International Forensic Investigation
    into the Origins of COVID-19,” Colin D. Butler, Henri Cap, et al, April 7, 2021; “Chinese scientists destroyed proof of virus in
    December,” The Times, March 1, 2020; “China Told Labs to Destroy Coronavirus Samples to Reduce Biosafety Risks,” Wall
    Street Journal, May 16, 2020; and “What happened in Wuhan? Why questions still linger on the origin of the coronavirus,”
    Lesley Stahl, CBS News, March 28, 2021.
    iii Testimony of the Director of National Intelligence, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, April 15, 2021.

    UNCLASSIFIED
    UNCLASSIFIED

    detect, [and] mitigate future pandemics. And that has to start with understanding exactly what
    happened.”iv
    In addition, I want to call to your attention the fact that U.S. government funds—whether
    directly or indirectly—are supporting dangerous dual-use scientific research at the Wuhan
    Institute of Virology (WIV). Our findings, though incomplete, suggest the United States
    supported such work despite clear evidence of the People’s Liberation Army’s involvement at
    the WIV.v It is essential that your Administration examine this matter and ensure that appropriate
    threat assessments are conducted anytime the U.S. government considers collaborating with a
    foreign adversary on future dual-use research. This may require a review of the interagency
    processes associated with such decisions.
    In summary, I request your Administration’s support for a whole-of-government effort to
    identify the origins of COVID-19 and urge you to undertake a review of the interagency
    processes associated with the funding of dangerous dual-use research—particularly when
    conducted with foreign adversary nations.
    Attached you will find a letter to the Director of National Intelligence, which includes
    many outstanding questions. My Republican colleagues and I hope you will agree that getting to
    the truth is of critical importance. We stand ready to work with your Administration to address
    these matters.

    ivSecretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister and Minister for Women Marise Payne at a Joint Press
    Availability, Washington, D.C., May 13, 2021.
    v “Fact Sheet: Activity at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” U.S. Department of State, January 15, 2021, and “Worrying new

    clues about the origins of Covid: How scientists at Wuhan lab helped Chinese army in secret project to find animal viruses,” Ian
    Birrell, The Daily Mail, April 24, 2021.

    UNCLASSIFIED

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