Bowling Green Today

U.S. Senator Rand Paul, alongside 18 other senators, has issued a follow-up letter to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William J. Burns, requesting information on whistleblower allegations concerning the origins of COVID-19. The allegations were disclosed by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

The allegations stem from a senior-level Agency officer who has come forward to provide information regarding the CIA's analysis into the origins of COVID-19. According to the whistleblower, a team of seven officers was assigned to the COVID Discovery Team. Six out of the seven members of the team believed that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, while the seventh member, the most senior officer, believed in the zoonotic origin theory.

These allegations have raised concerns about the CIA's investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in light of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's June 2023 unclassified report, which stated that the CIA was "unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic."

In their letter, the senators expressed their concern over the Agency's refusal to cooperate with requests for information regarding the whistleblower allegations. They emphasized that the CIA has an obligation to be responsive to congressional oversight requests from all members of the Senate, regardless of their committee assignments.

The senators reiterated their request for the following information from the CIA:

1. All documents and communications regarding the establishment of the COVID Discovery Team(s).

2. All documents and communications among the members of the COVID Discovery Team(s) regarding the origins of COVID-19.

3. All documents and communications between the COVID Discovery Team(s) and other employees or contractors of the Agency regarding the origins of COVID-19.

4. All documents and communications between the COVID Discovery Team(s) and employees or contractors of other federal government agencies regarding the origins of COVID-19.

5. All documents and communications relating to any conclusions of the COVID Discovery Team(s) and subsequent revisions of such conclusions.

Dr. Paul is joined in sending the letter by Senators Roger Wicker, Ted Budd, Cynthia Lummis, Markwayne Mullin, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Bill Cassidy, Rick Scott, Mike Lee, Bill Hagerty, Mike Braun, Ted Cruz, Tommy Tuberville, Josh Hawley, Roger Marshall, Eric Schmitt, Ron Johnson, Susan Collins, and Lindsey Graham.

This is not the first time Senator Paul and his colleagues have sought information from the CIA regarding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. They initially requested additional documents and information on September 12, 2023. However, the Agency failed to provide any of the requested information or documentation in their response on September 27, 2023.

The senators' latest letter seeks to obtain the necessary information to evaluate the whistleblower's allegations and shed light on the origins of COVID-19.