(By Casey Harper, The Center Square) A U.S. House Committee tasked with delving into the origins of COVID-19 plan a new hearing to discuss an investigation into whether the federal government suppressed information related to the theory that COVID-19 came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab in China.
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup announced the hearing, which will be held July 11. The committee has conducted transcribed interviews with every U.S. contributor to the now infamous “Proximal Origins” document, a paper Wenstrup says was pushed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, former head of the federal COVID response, to discredit the Wuhan lab theory.
Since then, though, more evidence has emerged backing the Wuhan theory, including more details into China’s response as well reports from the FBI and U.S. Department of Energy saying that the Wuhan lab is the most likely source of COVID.
“These scientists have essential information to share with Americans about the cover-up of the origins of COVID-19 and the potential suppression of the lab-leak hypothesis by Dr. Fauci, Dr. Collins, and other public health authorities,” Wenstrup said. “A complete look at all the facts is necessary, and the truth is nonnegotiable.”
Dr. Francis Collins is the former director of the National Institutes of Health.
Wenstrup said the hearing will evaluate “the potential conflicts of interest and suppression of scientific discourse by the National Institutes of Health surrounding the drafting, publication, and critical reception of the infamous ‘The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2’ (Proximal Origins’) correspondence.”
The Wuhan lab theory was initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory by mainstream media and federal health officials, namely Fauci.
As The Center Square previously reported, in 2020, the Associated Press called the idea a “myth.” The same year, the New York Times called it a “conspiracy theory,” and The Washington Post called it a “fringe theory.”
Social media companies like Facebook were taking down posts in 2021 that claimed COVID-19 was man-made. Fauci also took several media interviews where he blasted those considering the Wuhan theory.
The inquiry is further complicated since federal health funding dollars went to the Wuhan lab in question. Whether those dollars impacted any COVID gain-of-function research and the extent of Fauci’s involvement remain under dispute and could become a key part of the upcoming hearing.
“With insufficient evidence in hand and Dr. Fauci’s prompting as protection, ‘Proximal Origins’ seemingly became one of the most egregious cover-ups of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Wenstrup said.
“Robust scientific discourse was abandoned in pursuit of a preferred, coordinated narrative. The origination of a virus that killed seven million people worldwide requires a thorough and comprehensive investigation – not a snap judgment based on questionable motives.”
