GOP senators demand answers from Merrick Garland over COVID-19 lab leak investigations
Cami Mondeaux
Video Embed
EXCLUSIVE — A group of Republicans penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding answers about what actions he has taken against China amid reports the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a lab leak in Wuhan.
The group of six senators, led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), sent the letter on Wednesday, outlining a list of questions regarding what actions Garland has taken or plans to take after the Department of Energy concluded with “low confidence” that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Those findings were detailed in a report from the DOE earlier this month, prompting an uproar from conservatives who voiced similar theories early on in the pandemic.
HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY VOTES TO FORCE BIDEN SPY CHIEF TO DECLASSIFY INTELLIGENCE ON COVID-19 ORIGINS
“More than 1.1 million Americans have died due to COVID-19 in the past three years, and untold millions more have suffered, and continue to suffer, physical and economic harms related to the pandemic,” the Republican lawmakers wrote in the letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. “Rather than use your position to pursue the politics and partisan policies of the far-left, we suggest you fulfill your duty as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal Government to advance the interests of the United States and hold accountable the Chinese Communist Party and international organizations responsible for their role in the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It’s not entirely clear what consequences Garland would pursue against the Chinese government or whether there would be legal limitations to implementing such action. In response, the senators requested that Garland “specifically identify” barriers so that Congress could consider measures to bypass any obstacles.
“We wholeheartedly welcome the opportunity to draft appropriate legislation to remove those barriers to pursuing justice for the millions of Americans harmed by the misconduct of the Chinese Communist Party,” they wrote.
The letter comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been pushing for answers on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks. The Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that would require the director of national intelligence to declassify all information it has gathered on the origins of COVID-19, specifically any possible links with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The legislation’s passage marks a striking departure from the early days of the pandemic, when the lab leak hypothesis was dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Since then, the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies have said both theories are plausible, yet the debate continues to divide the intelligence and scientific communities.
Lawmakers on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have also opened their own inquiry into the matter, holding their first hearing on March 8. During that panel meeting, Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration, said the answer would probably be uncovered by intelligence agencies rather than scientists.
The letter also comes as Garland has come under tough scrutiny and has become the subject of several congressional investigations led by House Republicans after they took control of the lower chamber in January. These include inquiries into Garland’s leadership of the Justice Department regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop, the classified documents found in President Joe Biden’s home, and the so-called “weaponization” of federal agencies against conservatives.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Your tenure as U.S. Attorney General has, regrettably, been marked by an apparent preference to wield the substantial resources of the federal law enforcement apparatus at your disposal for nakedly partisan endeavors rather than engaging in meaningful pursuits to benefit our country as a whole,” the senators wrote.
The letter was co-signed by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Braun (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN).
iFrame Object