Originally established in 1795 and now vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any of the current congressional authorizing committees, some members in the Committee on Energy and Commerce-- oldest standing legislative committee in the United States House of Representatives—now demands an investigation into the origins of COVID-19, starting with a demand letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Lawrence Tabak. The ask: the NIH must investigate Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance in association with a possible cover-up and associated fraud related to coronavirus research at the Wuhan lab in China.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Republican Leader Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sent a letter to Director Tabak with instructions.

EcoHealth Alliance president Peter Daszak and EcoHealth are suspected of violating policies related to both scientific research, and grant applications and reports. The members are requesting the NIH investigate Daszak and EcoHealth on whether data related to crucial research was purposefully withheld during the grant renewal process.

The representatives stated:

“Our review of EcoHealth Alliance’s reports about its humanized mice experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) using funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows pervasive discrepancies, inconsistencies, and omissions in its progress reports and renewal application that raise serious questions about scientific and ethical misconduct, violations of NIH policies and regulations, and possible false statements and fraud. Accordingly, we request the NIH investigate Dr. Peter Daszak, the Principal Investigator of R01AIll0964, and other EcoHealth officials to determine whether certain data related to mice deaths and other material information were intentionally withheld during the peer review process for EcoHealth’s grant renewal application.”

In the letter the representatives allege not only was EcoHealth Alliance in a financial crisis a few years ago but that also the group was covering up critical data from mice deaths to involvement in gain-of-function research which was banned in the U.S. for a period of time.

Follow the link to read the entire letter.