House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member James Comer and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan sent a letter Wednesday to White House senior medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci asking him to explain a possible “discrepancy” in his sworn congressional testimony about taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).
In the letter, first obtained by Daily Caller, Comer and Jordan said it appears the NIH funded gain-of-function research and call on Fauci to clarify his May 2021 testimony, in which he stated under oath that the NIH has never funded gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“On May 11, 2021, while testifying under oath, you stated, ‘[t]he NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the [WIV].’ This appears to contradict your 2012 statement regarding gain-of-function research and the WIV,” the letter said.
“At a 2012 conference entitled ‘Gain-of-Function Research on HPA1 H5N1 Viruses,’ you said, ‘[w]hat historically investigators have done is to actually create gain-of-function by making mutations, passage adoption, or other genetic techniques, such as reverse genetics,'” the letter said.
“In 2014, you, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded EcoHealth Alliance, Inc. (EcoHealth) a grant entitled ‘Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.’ This grant allowed EcoHealth to ‘[t]est predictions of [coronavirus] … transmission … using reverse genetics’ … Funds from this grant were subsequently awarded to the WIV.”
“Using your own definition, it appears the NIH funded gain-of-function research at the WIV,” the letter continued.
The two lawmakers then asked Fauci to confirm the authenticity of the 2012 video on YouTube and for him to verify whether the 2014 grant description is accurate.
“Can you please confirm the authenticity of the 2012 video accessible on the YouTube platform? Further, please verify that the 2014 grant description is accurate and explain the apparent discrepancy in your recent testimony?”
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“Dr. Fauci’s sworn congressional testimony about taxpayer-funded, controversial research at the Wuhan lab appears to contradict the facts,” Comer told the Daily Caller.
“The American people need to know if their taxpayer dollars were at all affiliated with the COVID-19 pandemic Communist China unleashed on the world. Dr. Fauci must explain the apparent discrepancy in his congressional testimony and provide Americans with the truth,” Comer added. (RELATED: ‘The Time Has Come’: Sen. Josh Hawley Calls For Fauci To Step Down, Demands Full Email Investigation)
Many Republican lawmakers have called Fauci’s resignation after thousands of Fauci emails from the beginning of the global pandemic were published by The Washington Post and Buzzfeed News. The emails contained comments on wearing masks, the lab leak theory, and more.
The Daily Caller contacted the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases about the letter to which they did not immediately respond.
