The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally commenced debarment proceedings against EcoHealth Alliance from receiving taxpayer-funded government grants over its role in facilitating gain-of-function research in China.
In its action referral memorandum published on Wednesday, HHS explained how EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) and its president Peter Daszak skirted government oversight and regulations to conduct risky gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that led up to the release of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that became COVID-19.
“The information in the record establishes EHA did not adequately monitor WIV’s compliance, and, therefore, its own compliance, with the terms and conditions of its grant award,” wrote HHS Suspension and Debarment Official Henrietta Katrina Brisbon.
?BREAKING?
Today, based on evidence uncovered in @COVIDSelect‘s recent report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services commenced formal debarment proceedings against EcoHealth Alliance.
EcoHealth will now face an immediate, government-wide suspension of taxpayer… pic.twitter.com/gLxg6R3Enw
— Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (@COVIDSelect) May 15, 2024
“Therefore, given the issues regarding the management of EHA’s grant awards and subawards, I have determined that the immediate suspension of EHA is necessary to protect the public interest.”
The HHS memorandum came in response to a damning report issued by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic earlier this month finding EcoHealth Alliance “used taxpayer dollars to facilitate gain-of-function research on coronaviruses in Wuhan at the WIV, contrary to previous public statements, including those by Dr. Anthony Fauci.”
The report, which was based on over “one million pages of documents” and testimony from “more than a dozen fact witnesses” also found “EcoHealth violated its grant terms and conditions by failing to report a potentially dangerous experiment conducted by the WIV.”
Additionally, the report concluded the National Institute of Health “may not have known about EcoHealth’s actions without proper intervention by former-President Donald Trump and former-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.”
Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) issued a statement Wednesday praising HHS’s move to suspend EcoHealth Alliance from government grants:
“EcoHealth Alliance and Dr. Peter Daszak should never again receive a single penny from the U.S. taxpayer. Only two weeks after the Select Subcommittee released an extensive report detailing EcoHealth’s wrongdoing and recommending the formal debarment of EcoHealth and its president, HHS has begun efforts to cut off all U.S. funding to this corrupt organization.
“EcoHealth facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China without proper oversight, willingly violated multiple requirements of its multimillion-dollar National Institutes of Health grant, and apparently made false statements to the NIH. These actions are wholly abhorrent, indefensible, and must be addressed with swift action. EcoHealth’s immediate funding suspension and future debarment is not only a victory for the U.S. taxpayer, but also for American national security and the safety of citizens worldwide.
“The Select Subcommittee’s investigation into EcoHealth and the origins of COVID-19 is far from over. Dr. Daszak and his team are still required to produce all outstanding documents and answer the Select Subcommittee’s questions, specifically related to Dr. Daszak’s potential dishonesty under oath. We will hold EcoHealth accountable for any waste, fraud, and abuse and are committed to uncovering any illegal activity, including lying to Congress, NIH, or the Inspector General.”
The nonprofit’s suspension also undermines former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci’s repeated testimony — under oath — that EcoHealth Alliance never facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan.
Fauci vs. Fauci: A compilation of countless lies and contradictions on gain-of-function, lab leak, masks, lockdowns, and vaccine side effects. pic.twitter.com/DVZXxeR5Ce
— Kevin Bass PhD MS (@kevinnbass) January 8, 2024
Rep. Wenstrup last week also called on the State Department to release all classified documents related to the origins of COVID-19 and claimed the Chinese Communist Party attempted to cover it up.
Notably, despite Daszak admitting in 2021 to helping China develop weaponized coronaviruses, the Biden administration awarded EcoHealth Alliance another $2.3 million in government grants for research on bat coronaviruses two years later.
John Kirby’s answer to the question of whether Biden thinks conducting Gain of Function research is prudent: “I think that’s a fancy way of saying yes”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 27, 2023
Read the HHS memo:
