Politics

EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Launch COVID-19 Origins Inquiry

Left: (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Right: (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Henry Rodgers Chief National Correspondent
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Republicans on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis are set to announce Wednesday that they will hold an expert witness forum on the origins of COVID-19, the Daily Caller has learned.

Republican Whip and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Ranking Member Steve Scalise, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer and Select Subcommittee Republican lawmakers will hold a forum with expert witnesses to examine the origins of COVID-19. The lawmakers will hold two witness panels and one panel with members.

These Republicans have continued to call on Democrats to investigate if the virus originated from a Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) lab as Democrats have refused to launch the investigation. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Reps Comer, Jordan Demand Fauci To Explain Possible ‘Discrepancy’ In Sworn Congressional Testimony)

Here Is Who Will Be Participating In The First Witness Panel: 

  • Brett P. Giroir, former Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Dr. David Asher, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
  • Dr. Richard Muller, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California Berkeley
  • Dr. Steven Quay, Founder, Atossa Therapeutics

Here Is Who Will Be Participating In The Member Panel: 

  • Republican Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
  • Republican Texas Rep. Michael McCaul
  • Republican California Rep. Devin Nunes
  • Republican Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher

Here Who Was Invited To Speak At The Second Witness Panel, But Has Not Accepted: 

  • Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • Dr. David Hassell, Chairman, P3CO

Many Republican lawmakers have called for Fauci’s resignation after thousands of his 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. (RELATED: The Top Six Revelations From Anthony Fauci’s Emails) 

“The left-wing media called it a ‘fringe conspiracy theory,’ Big Tech censored it, activists in white lab coats dismissed it and Democrats ignored it, but there is growing evidence Communist China started the pandemic, covered it up, and is responsible for the deaths of more than 600,000 Americans and millions more worldwide,” Scalise and Comer said in a statement.

 Rep. James Clyburn talks with Rep. Steve Scalise on May 19, 2021 in Washington DC. (Photo by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images)

“Despite Speaker Pelosi’s efforts to create diversions and cover this up, the American people deserve the truth and are demanding accountability, and House Republicans will insist on getting these answers. The House Democrat majority’s refusal to follow the science, listen to the experts, and investigate the origins of COVID-19 is a dereliction of their duty,” Scalise and Comer continued.

“Next week, Select Subcommittee Republicans will hold a forum with expert witnesses to advance our investigation into the origins of COVID-19,” Scalise and Comer added. “The American people deserve to know the truth, even if Washington Democrats refuse to seek it.” (RELATED: Republicans Demand Answers Over Reports Biden Called Off Investigation Into COVID-19 Origins)

In May, President Joe Biden told reporters that he expects to release the findings of the White House’s 90-day inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 to the public unless there is something he is “unaware of.” Biden asked the intelligence community “to redouble their efforts” in coming to a “conclusion” on the origins of COVID-19. (RELATED: Republicans Send Letter To Biden Administration, Saying No American IP Should Be Given Away For Free)

In a press release issued by the White House, Biden said he pushed for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get access to China in early 2020 to learn about the virus.

The Daily Caller contacted the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to see if Fauci would accept the invitation, to which they did not immediately respond. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also did not immediately respond when asked if Collins would accept the invitation.