{"id":543177,"date":"2021-05-27T15:35:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T19:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=543177"},"modified":"2021-05-27T15:35:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T19:35:38","slug":"exclusive-republicans-demand-answers-from-secretary-of-state-over-reports-biden-called-off-investigation-into-covid-19-origins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-republicans-demand-answers-from-secretary-of-state-over-reports-biden-called-off-investigation-into-covid-19-origins\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Demand Answers From Secretary Of State Over Reports Biden Called Off Investigation Into COVID-19 Origins"},"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\">34<\/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%2Fexclusive-republicans-demand-answers-from-secretary-of-state-over-reports-biden-called-off-investigation-into-covid-19-origins%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=543177&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--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo-by-Win-McNameeGetty-Images-21212-e1622137584316.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken over reports President Joe Biden called off an investigation into the origins of COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Caller first obtained the letter which asks Blinken a number of questions and calls for the State Department to provide them with documents, communications, names, and more related to the now-terminated State Department investigation into SARS-CoV-2\u2019s origin. Johnson and Scott both serve on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security &amp; Governmental Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe write to request information regarding recent reports that \u2018President Joe Biden\u2019s team shut down\u2019 an investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, which included examining the theory that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China. According to reports, the now-terminated investigation was run out of the State Department\u2019s arms control and verification bureau and was the only inquiry looking seriously into the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The investigation team reportedly briefed Biden administration officials on its findings in February and March 2021,\u201d the two write in the letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing the briefing, the State Department reportedly terminated the investigation. To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the only entity that has conducted a known public investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2. However, the WHO\u2019s investigation has been widely criticized by both outside experts and Biden administration officials, including yourself,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here Is What The Senators Are Requesting From The State Department:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Please explain why and when the State Department\u2019s investigation was terminated, including the names and titles of the individuals who advocated for terminating the investigation<\/li>\n<li>Please provide any written materials, including any draft reports, created during the now-terminated State Department investigation into SARS-CoV-2\u2019s origin<\/li>\n<li>Please provide the names and titles of all individuals who received or reviewed any draft reports or briefing on the State Department\u2019s investigation in the origins of SARS-CoV-2<\/li>\n<li>Please provide all documents and communications that the State Department cited or relied on during the course of its investigation into SARS-CoV-2\u2019s origins<\/li>\n<li>Please explain what other investigations the State Department currently has or previously<br \/>had into SARS-CoV-2\u2019s origins<\/li>\n<li>Please provide the names and titles of the individuals that conducted the investigation<br \/>into the origins of SARS-CoV-2<\/li>\n<li>Please provide all State Department cables from 2018 to present that discuss the Wuhan Institute of Virology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>READ THE LETTER HERE:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View (DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) -- Letter From Senators Johnson and Scott to Sec Antony Blinken on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/509585928\/DAILY-CALLER-OBTAINED-Letter-From-Senators-Johnson-and-Scott-to-Sec-Antony-Blinken#from_embed\">(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) \u2014 \u2026<\/a> by <a title=\"View Henry Rodgers&#039;s profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/527927298\/Henry-Rodgers#from_embed\">Henry Rodgers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world needs to know the origin of the Coronavirus.&nbsp;It is critical that this administration does its part by being transparent and providing the American people with honest and complete information. All I\u2019m asking for is the truth,\u201d Johnson told the Daily Caller after sending the letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor nearly a year, the press and Washington Democrats said it was crazy to suggest that COVID-19 may have leaked from a lab. It\u2019s about time President Biden acknowledges that the American people deserve answers. Communist China is responsible for this pandemic. We must hold them accountable,\u201d Scott told the Daily Caller.<\/p>\n<p>Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/27\/biden-lab-leak-report-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told reporters<\/a> Thursday that he expects to release the findings of the White House\u2019s 90-day inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 to the public unless there is something he is \u201cunaware of.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/27\/biden-lab-leak-report-china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Biden Expects To Release Findings Of COVID-19 Origins Report, But With A Caveat)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/26\/joe-biden-intelligence-agencies-covid-19-origin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">asked the intelligence community<\/a> Wednesday \u201cto redouble their efforts\u201d in coming to a \u201cconclusion\u201d on the origins of COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>In a press release issued by the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/26\/editor-daily-rundown-psaki-who-investigation-lab-leak\/\">White House<\/a>, 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. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/26\/joe-biden-intelligence-agencies-covid-19-origin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Biden Asks Intelligence Agencies To \u2018Redouble Their Efforts\u2019 On COVID-19 Origins, Presses China For Transparency)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has \u2018coalesced around two likely scenarios\u2019 but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,\u201d Biden noted. \u201cHere is their current position: \u2018while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter \u2013 each with low or moderate confidence \u2013 the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Caller contacted the State Department about the letter, to which they did not immediately respond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken over reports President Joe Biden called off an investigation &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313299,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo-by-Win-McNameeGetty-Images-21212-e1622137584316.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Demand Answers From Secretary Of State Over Reports Biden Called Off Investigation Into COVID-19 Origins","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Photo-by-Win-McNameeGetty-Images-21212-e1622137584316.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"EXCLUSIVE: Republicans Demand Answers From Secretary Of State Over Reports Biden Called Off Investigation Into COVID-19 Origins","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543177","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=543177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}