EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic about his organization’s involvement in gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology leading up to the 2020 Covid outbreak. The testimony followed the release of a damning report by GOP members of the subcommittee, recommending suspension and debarment proceedings against EcoHealth and Daszak. EcoHealth Alliance received government funding for research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with discrepancies in disclosures and reports highlighted during the hearing.
Key takeaways from Daszak’s testimony include his dismissal of the lab-leak theory, contacts with U.S. intelligence agencies, EcoHealth’s delayed submission of research reports, and his refusal to condemn Big Tech censorship of accurate Covid information. Daszak also admitted to communicating with Dr. David Morens, a senior scientific adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci, regarding EcoHealth’s grant reinstatement.
The hearing raised concerns about EcoHealth’s compliance with grant terms and conditions, failure to report potentially dangerous experiments, and the custody of U.S.-funded samples at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Shawn Fleetwood, a staff writer for The Federalist, covered the hearing and his work has been featured in various outlets including RealClearPolitics and Conservative Review.
