{"id":2614659,"date":"2026-06-16T13:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-demand-answers-after-nih-monkeypox-smuggling-incident\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T13:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:34:02","slug":"lawmakers-demand-answers-after-nih-monkeypox-smuggling-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-demand-answers-after-nih-monkeypox-smuggling-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers demand answers after NIH monkeypox smuggling incident"},"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\">16<\/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%2Flawmakers-demand-answers-after-nih-monkeypox-smuggling-incident%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=2614659&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>The NIH is under congressional examination after two foreign scientists, Vincent Munster (Dutch) and claude Kwe (Cameroonian), affiliated with NIH research facilities, were charged with attempting to smuggle monkeypox virus samples and othre biological materials into the U.S. from the Republic of the Congo. They were caught at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in January, falsely claiming the materials were diagnostic equipment, but investigators found 113 vials containing deactivated monkeypox, chickenpox, and human DNA. Both researchers worked in high-security BSL-4 labs studying emerging viruses. They have since been terminated from NIH, which states they acted independently. Congress is scrutinizing NIH\u2019s oversight and protocols regarding foreign research, especially concerning biological samples. Leaders have demanded detailed documentation on thier research activities, travel, and compliance with policies. The incident raises concerns about biosecurity and the oversight of imported biological materials.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/NIH\/\">National Institutes of Health<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-lawmakers-warn-biden-against-lifting-iran-sanctions\/\" title=\"GOP Lawmakers Warn Biden Against Lifting Iran Sanctions\">facing congressional scrutiny<\/a> after two of its scientists were charged with allegedly smuggling vials of the infectious monkeypox virus and other biological samples into the United States, according to a copy of a letter shared exclusively with the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NIH researchers Vincent Munster and Claude Kwe, both foreign nationals, are accused of conspiring to sneak undeclared biological material into the U.S. and lying to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-mayor-congress-must-open-a-probe-into-security-failures-at-u-s-capitol\/\" title=\"D.C. Mayor: Congress must open a probe into security failures at U.S. Capitol\">federal law enforcement<\/a> about its content.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4609708\/three-alleged-antifa-cell-members-indicted-terrorism-charges-texas-ice-attack\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Three more <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >alleged antifa cell members indicted<\/a> on terrorism charges over Texas ICE attack<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4605693\/judge-transgender-inmates-judicial-clash\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge blocks transfer of transgender inmates back to men\u2019s prisons, setting the stage for broader judicial clash<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4600712\/minnesota-disenrolls-thousands-high-risk-medicaid-providers\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Minnesota disenrolls thousands of high-risk Medicaid providers following federal squeeze: \u2018Shocking lack of oversight\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Munster and Kwe were flagged at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in January while returning on a commercial flight from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Congo\/\">Republic of the Congo\u2019s<\/a> Brazzaville region, where a massive <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/monkeypox\/outbreaks\/2023\/index.html\">monkeypox outbreak<\/a> was actively occurring.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the June 2 criminal complaint, Munster and Kwe falsely told Customs and Border Protection inspection officers, when questioned, that the large, black plastic case they were carrying simply contained \u201cdiagnostics and testing equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, prosecutors say federal agents found it contained 113 vials stuffed inside Styrofoam coolers. According to the charging documents, of the 20 vials tested at the time of the complaint, FBI investigators determined that 17 of them concealed deactivated monkeypox virus, one contained the chickenpox virus, and two others contained human DNA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4499282\/nih-lecture-making-case-covid-originated-chinese-lab\/\"><strong>NIH HOSTS LECTURE MAKING THE CASE THAT COVID-19 CAME FROM A CHINESE LAB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Munster, a Dutch citizen, was the chief of virus ecology at the NIH\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.niaid.nih.gov\/about\/rocky-mountain-laboratories\">Rocky Mountain Laboratories<\/a>, a state-of-the-art biomedical research facility in Montana. Kwe, a citizen of Cameroon, worked with Munster as a research fellow within the site\u2019s virology lab.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two researched \u201cemerging viral pathogens\u201d and how they \u201ccross the species barrier.\u201d Their laboratory\u2019s security level is ranked Biosafety Level 4, the highest level of biological containment. BSL-4 labs are designed to study dangerous, exotic, and airborne pathogens that can cause life-threatening, often fatal diseases in humans with no known cure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If convicted of the conspiracy and false statement charges, Munster and Kwe face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NIH has said that the two individuals\u2019 access to NIH facilities has since been terminated and that they acted on their own accord.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to the incident, Republican leadership on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-energy-and-commerce-committee\/\">House energy and commerce committee<\/a> sent NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya a letter Tuesday, requesting information about the biomedical research agency\u2019s oversight protocols and its awareness of any research activities involving those imported pathogens.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a copy of the letter, committee leaders questioned whether anyone at NIH had communicated with Munster or Kwe about their travel plans to Congo, and, if so, whether they would turn over documentation of their correspondence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among other questions, the committee asked whether the NIH possessed any information prior to the pair\u2019s arrest indicating that either individual might transport biological material into the U.S. without authorization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter instructed Bhattacharya to provide a list of past and present NIH-funded infectious disease research involving the two former NIH scientists, as well as any foreign research trips taken by them during their tenure with NIH-affiliated institutions, including travel details naming the countries visited on each trip, the stated purpose of said trip, and whether they were granted permission to return with biological samples.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4545878\/fauci-former-senior-adviser-indicted-charge-concealing-covid-19-records\/\"><strong>FAUCI\u2019S FORMER SENIOR ADVISER INDICTED ON CHARGES OF CONCEALING COVID-19 RESEARCH RECORDS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Committee leaders also pressed Bhattacharya on the agency\u2019s official guidance outlining NIH policy and standard operating procedures related to the acquisition of research specimens from foreign countries, employee reporting obligations regarding cross-national research collaborations, and disclosure requirements for importing biological material.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The committee directed Bhattacharya to provide a written response and all requested records by June 30.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; John Joyce (R-PA), chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee; and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), chairman of the health subcommittee, signed the letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe announcement by the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan that two NIH researchers have been charged with conspiring to smuggle Mpox and other biological material into the country is deeply concerning,\u201d Guthrie, Joyce, and Griffith said in a joint statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cAnd what\u2019s even worse is how a leading scientist allegedly misled CBP officers given the risks of improperly transporting such materials into our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor these reasons and more, the Committee has questions about the incident, what actions are being taken in response to the incident, and what is being done to safeguard our country,\u201d the committee leaders added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NIH faces probe over smuggling monkeypox samples into US<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3767,"featured_media":2614660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-NIH-Director-scaled.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3673,27436,16583,14287],"class_list":["post-2614659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-lawmakers","tag-monkeypox","tag-nih","tag-smuggling"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/New-NIH-Director-scaled.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614659","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\/3767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2614659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2614663,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2614659\/revisions\/2614663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2614660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2614659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2614659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2614659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}