{"id":1775447,"date":"2022-12-15T06:30:49","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T11:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1775447"},"modified":"2022-12-15T06:34:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T11:34:14","slug":"house-oversight-republicans-launch-investigation-into-covid-origins-target-fauci-hhs-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-oversight-republicans-launch-investigation-into-covid-origins-target-fauci-hhs-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"House Oversight Republicans Launch Investigation Into COVID Origins, Target Fauci, HHS Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-oversight-republicans-launch-investigation-into-covid-origins-target-fauci-hhs-officials%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1775447&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Incoming Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) announced the launch of the committee\u2019s investigation into the origins of the Chinese coronavirus Tuesday by requesting interviews from Dr. Anthony Fauci and dozens of other virologists and government officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"a8d-pre\">Comer and committee member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who will also serve on the Judiciary Committee next year as chairman, launched their investigation by sending nine separate letters to various top officials, including Fauci and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, naming other individuals within those letters as well.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8BREAKING\ud83d\udea8<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepJamesComer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepJamesComer<\/a> &#038; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jim_Jordan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Jim_Jordan<\/a> are pressing senior Biden admin officials, EcoHealth, &#038; top scientists for information related to COVID origins.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time ever, they list 40 officials who should expect to appear before <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GOPoversight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GOPoversight<\/a>.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/edFyuFP3UM\">https:\/\/t.co\/edFyuFP3UM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GOPoversight\/status\/1603025583042138113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"a8d-pre\">They state in the letters that the Oversight Committee\u2019s investigation into \u201cthe origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)\u2019s role in obscuring the truth regarding the initial outbreak, and whether any U.S. taxpayer dollars funded the Wuhan Institute of Virology\u2019s (WIV) dangerous gain-of-function research\u201d will be a \u201cpriority\u201d for the committee next year.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>In the letter to Becerra, the Republicans request interviews from a dozen individuals in particular, most of whom have never been named publicly before, who they say had a role in approving U.S. taxpayer dollars to go toward gain of function research:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Dr. David Christian Hassell, Senior Science Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Ruben Donis, Chief Science Officer, Influenza Division, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Jeffrey Taubenberger, Senior Investigator, Viral Pathogenesis and Evolution Section, NIH<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Segaran Pillai, Director, Office of Laboratory Safety, Food and Drug Administration<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Samuel Edwin, Director, Division of Select Agents and Toxins, Center for Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Ken Santora, Director, Division of Extramural Activities, National Institute on Aging, NIH<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Daniel Jernigan, Acting Deputy Director, Public Health Science and Surveillance, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/li>\n<li>Dr. Carrie Wolinetz, Acting Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Science Policy, NIH<\/li>\n<li>Mr. Garret Grigsby, Former Director, Office of Global Affairs, HHS<\/li>\n<li>Ms. Alisa Hudgens, Acting Deputy Director, Office of National Security, HHS<\/li>\n<li>Ms. Susan Sherman, Senior Attorney, HHS<\/li>\n<li>Mr. Bill Hall, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Public Health, HHS<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Cases of the virus first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/museum\/timeline\/covid19.html#:~:text=December%2031%2C%202019,the%20Huanan%20Seafood%20Wholesale%20Market.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">appeared<\/a>\u00a0in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, which, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, \u201cseem[ed] connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The exact source of the virus became a point of controversy, however, as revelations surfaced that the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratories, located in close proximity to the seafood market, were conducting research on coronaviruses, including lab-created strains of the viruses that did not already exist in nature.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18059714\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Wuhan-Institute-of-Virology-Wuhan-Lab-coronavirus-2021-getty.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18059714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Wuhan-Institute-of-Virology-Wuhan-Lab-coronavirus-2021-getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Security personnel stand guard outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China\u2019s central Hubei province on February 3, 2021. (HECTOR RETAMAL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The CCP\u2019s well-documented initial suppression of information about the virus and its firm grip over access to study the labs\u2019 activities have caused many questions surrounding the origins of the virus to remain unanswered. United States social media platforms\u2019 initial censorship of theories about the origins of the virus that suggested it could have leaked from a Wuhan lab also worked to draw more attention to the theory.<\/p>\n<p>Comer said in a statement about the Oversight Committee\u2019s investigation into the matter that \u201cmounting evidence points to the virus originating from a leak at the Wuhan lab,\u201d though other entities, such as Johns Hopkins University, <a href=\"https:\/\/publichealth.jhu.edu\/2022\/origins-of-sars-cov-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">say<\/a> evidence quashes the lab theory and that the virus emerged as a \u201cnatural spillover\u201d from the seafood market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will continue to follow the facts to determine what, if anything, could have been done differently to guard against the harms Americans have endured during the pandemic,\u201d Comer said. \u201cWe will continue this oversight to hold U.S. government officials accountable for any wrongdoing and ensure Americans\u2019 tax dollars aren\u2019t being used on risky research at unsecure labs.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><em>Write to Ashley Oliver at\u00a0<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"mailto:aoliver@breitbart.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">aoliver@breitbart.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter at\u00a0<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/asholiver\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">@asholiver<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Incoming Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) announced the launch of the committee\u2019s investigation into the origins of the Chinese coronavirus Tuesday by requesting interviews from Dr. Anthony Fauci<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":972916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[5458,4127,4434,8235,3653,3976,4706,3638,6702,5618,3819,3756,4650],"class_list":["post-1775447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-bongino","tag-covid","tag-fauci","tag-hhs","tag-house","tag-investigation","tag-launch","tag-officials","tag-origins","tag-oversight","tag-report","tag-republicans","tag-target"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1775447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/972916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1775447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1775447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1775447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}