Republicans on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees launched an investigation Friday concerning a National Institutes of Health grant that awarded taxpayer funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
An exclusive Fox News article reported Kentucky Rep. James Comer, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to address “mounting evidence the COVID-19 pandemic started in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese Communist Party covered it up.”
The Oversight Committee Republicans Twitter account tweeted, “Americans deserve to know if any taxpayer funds were affiliated with the #COVID19 pandemic.”
?BREAKING?
@RepJamesComer & @Jim_Jordan have launched a probe into a @NIH grant awarded to EcoHealth Alliance. EcoHealth then funneled taxpayer?to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.Americans deserve to know if any taxpayer funds were affiliated with the #COVID19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/mW6oUciPro
— Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) May 28, 2021
The letter included strong words concerning the use of American taxpayer dollars for the controversial research.
“If U.S. taxpayer money was used to develop COVID-19, conduct gain of function research, or assist in any sort of cover-up, EcoHealth Alliance must be held accountable,” Comer and Jordan wrote.
“It is incumbent upon grant recipients to ensure their work is performed within the scope of the grant, advances our national interest, and protects our national security,” they added.
TUNE IN: I’ll be joining @larrygloverlive on @WVLK at 12:35 PM ET/11:35 CT to discuss mine and @Jim_Jordan’s probe into an NIH grant potentially funding the creation of COVID-19 in a Wuhan lab.
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) May 28, 2021
The letter follows growing concerns regarding the origin of COVID-19.
According to GOP South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, “[y]ou don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes” to figure out what the most likely answer is.
Graham appeared Wednesday on Fox News to announce he would introduce legislation sanctioning China for not “fully” cooperating with the World Health Organization and the international community’s investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, meanwhile, launched a fiery accusation toward National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday.
During his appearance on the Real America’s Voice program “The Water Cooler,” Paul was asked if he thought Fauci “perjured himself” before a recent Senate committee hearing on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul’s answer was unequivocal: “Absolutely. He lied to the American people.”
.@RandPaul is absolutely going in on Dr. Fauci, claims he committed perjury during his recent testimony before Congresspic.twitter.com/AH8QZi2Qd9
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) May 25, 2021
Paul cited the work of Chinese virologist Dr. Shi Zhengli, director of the WIV, the virus research laboratory in the same region where the coronavirus pandemic first reached the public.
In particular, he focused on “gain of function” research, which Paul described at a May 11 Senate hearing as “juicing up naturally occurring animal viruses to infect humans.”
Fauci has acknowledged that the NIH helped fund work at the Wuhan lab, but denied that the funding went to “gain of function” research, according to the New York Post.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.