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Rep. Roy demands answers regarding partnership between American scientist and the Wuhan Institute of Virology

July 7, 2022

WASHINGTON— On Wednesday, Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) sent a letter to Dr. James Le Duc, former director of the Galveston National Laboratory to get answers about recently uncovered documents indicating a partnership with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

“As more evidence seems to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 originated from the WIV and cannot conclusively be ruled out as the source, it is essential to have a clear understanding of knowledge transfers between China and the United States, the letter reads. “It is concerning that any public institution receiving federal government funding would enter into a cooperation agreement with an entity controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  Further, though UTMB may not be alone, it raises serious concerns that a prominent recipient of federal taxpayer dollars would enter into an agreement with any foreign entity—but especially an adversary—with such a glaring ‘memory hole’ provision that authorizes research materials and files to be destroyed upon request, it adds.

Recently, the U.S. Right to Knownon-profit group uncovered concerning documents revealing a partnership established by Dr. Le Duc and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated October 20, 2017 contains a ‘memory hole’ provision that would have allowed Wuhan Lab personnel to request files and materials be destroyed. On its face, this seems to violate record retention laws and requirements on grant recipients at the NIH.

"As Congress looks to safeguard Americans from national security risks, it is essential that we understand why federal grant recipients are entering into partnerships with institutions in adversarial countries and under what circumstances. Therefore, we request information from you regarding the interactions and agreements between UTMB and the WIV under your leadership,” the letter reads.

Congressman Roy is committed to fighting for Congressional oversight over the origins of COVID-19 and the level of participation U.S. scientists have with adversarial governments, including the Chinese Communist Party.    

Full text of the letter can be found here.

Dr. LeDuc's response letter to Rep. Roy can be found here.

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