WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — A special panel formed by House Republicans investigating the origins of the coronavirus met again to tackle the question: Where did the virus that’s killed nearly 7 million people worldwide come from?
Tuesday’s House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing was titled “Investigating the Origins of COVID-19, Part 2: China and the Available Intelligence.”
Representatives at the hearing decried how politicized the conversations surrounding COVID-19 have been, though members from both sides of the aisle criticized China for reportedly obfuscating information and investigations.
“While the specific origin of COVID-19 may not be 100% clear,” Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said, what is clear is that “China does not want the globe to know the origins.”
“They dodge and duck every legitimate attempt to investigate this question,” Wenstrup said.
Last week, Wenstrup said the subcommittee received an email from the Chinese Embassy saying they have “grave concerns” over the hearing, and “firmly oppose it.”
“These intimidation tactics will not work,” Wenstrup said. “You will not slow down our work, and we will not cease.”
Witnesses at Tuesday’s hearing included former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and/
The subcommittee held its first hearing on March 8. All of this comes on the heels of an assessment that COVID-19 “mostly likely” emerged from a lab leak rather than natural human exposure.
“My informed assessment as a person with as much access as anyone to our government’s intelligence during the initial year of the pandemic has been, and continues to be, a lab leak is the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, our science and our common sense,” Ratcliffe said.
There are two theories on where the virus originated: a leak from a laboratory in China, which the Chinese government disputes, or that human beings were exposed to an infected animal.
Ratcliffe said the Chinese Communist Party has gone to great lengths to destroy evidence of a lab leak.
Tactics the party’s used that Ratcliffe listed Tuesday included destroying medical tests, samples and data, intimidating and disappearing witnesses and journalists, lying to global health authorities, and “even spreading propaganda that the virus originated here in the U.S.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci has maintained he has an open mind about the origins of COVID-19, but pointed to “accumulating evidence” that it was transmitted naturally as opposed to through an accidental lab leak.
His comments came on the heels of a new study published earlier this month that shows large amounts of the virus were mixed in with genetic material from raccoon dogs at an outdoor wet market in Wuhan.
The research focused on swabs taken in Wuhan in the early days of the pandemic. Chinese researchers confirmed DNA from raccoon dogs and other animals was found in COVID-19 samples, especially from one corner of the wet market where exotic wildlife was sold.
A lab leak is now the lead theory at the FBI, with Director Christopher Wray saying recently, “The FBI has assessed, for quite some time now, that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.”
The U.S. intelligence community remains divided on a definite origin, partly because China has not been forthcoming with information about the outbreak and a wet market in Wuhan where it might have first spread.
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Cali., said reports of how the coronavirus started are inconclusive, and more research is needed.
At Tuesday’s hearing, he stressed that as investigations continue, “it is crucial we empower them to do so without extreme partisan rhetoric or political biases that cherry-pick evidence to push a partisan political narrative that vilifies public health leaders.”
“We must let our expert communities do their job, and in turn, we must develop policies based on evidence, as inconclusive as it may be at the moment, to help us prevent the next pandemic no matter which COVID origin theory you believe in,” Ruiz said.
