Press Releases

Today, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (OH-10) and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (OH-02) issued the following statement after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released its ‘Potential Links Between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Origin of the COVID-19 Pandemic.’

“Over one million Americans and nearly 7 million people worldwide have tragically died from COVID-19. Everyone deserves to know the truth, and the declassification of this report is a promising step toward full transparency.

“HPSCI and SSCP Republicans have been diligently working to get it right. Based on the classified information that we received, we suspected right away that the coronavirus was not a natural phenomenon. We’ve been pushing for years to make this information available for all to see.

“In addition, information gathered by HPSCI and SSCP Republicans this Congress and the last supports the likelihood of a lab leak. The Committees will continue to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and the information obtained today will help to further its investigation.”

“The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have some serious explaining to do. This declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Intelligence Community lends credence to the ‘lab leak’ theory, which suggests that the coronavirus outbreak most likely originated from a Wuhan virology lab in China. This is on top of the Government Accountability Office’s report released last week outlining the flow of U.S. taxpayer dollars to Chinese entities known to be doing coronavirus research. While we appreciate the report from ODNI, the corroboration of all available evidence along with further investigation into the origins of COVID-19 must continue.” 

Background:

On December 14, 2022, HPSCI Republicans issued a report on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On March 10, 2023, S.619, the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives. 

On March 20, 2023, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 into law. 

On June 14, 2023, the Government Accountability Office published a report confirming that U.S. taxpayer money flowed to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This GAO report was requested by HPSCI Republicans in April 2022. 

This full ODNI report is available here.