The leader of a House panel looking into the COVID-19 pandemic asked the FBI and Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday to hand over records on an illegal Chinese lab that was reportedly conducting risky research in California.
House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) asked FBI Director Christopher Wray and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for documents and communications about the lab, operated in secret in the tiny city of Reedley by the Chinese company Prestige Biotech.
Federal, state and local authorities raided the lab earlier this year and found hundreds of mice that had been genetically altered to carry COVID-19 and were “kept in dangerous or unsafe conditions,” according to court filings made in Fresno County.
Prestige Biotech President Xiuquin Yao was also unable to produce licenses or certifications that allowed for either breeding or experimenting on the mice. The lab was later shut down.
A subsequent search by agents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered the lab also improperly housed at least 20 infectious diseases, bacteria and viruses, including chlamydia, E. coli, HIV 1 and 2, malaria and SARS-CoV-2.
According to the court filings, another representative for Prestige Biotech, David He, had told the authorities there were no infectious materials being kept at the lab. --->READ MORE HERE
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House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup announced an investigation into whether an unlicensed lab in Reedley, California, owned by Prestige Biotech, a Chinese company, posed a threat to public health for allegedly conducting dangerous research related to COVID-19.
In March 2023, city and state officials, in conjunction with the FBI, executed a search warrant on the property, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspected the lab for deadly viruses and infectious agents.
Mr. Wenstrup, Ohio Republican, and the committee point to mounting intelligence and evidence that supports that COVID-19 likely originated at a lab in Wuhan, China. The lawmakers see that investigating Prestige Biotech’s illegal bio lab on U.S. soil is crucial to protecting America’s national security and preventing future outbreaks and pandemics.
“On March 16, 2023, various city and bureau officials executed a search warrant and found ‘several hundred mice that … have been genetically modified to catch and carry the COVID-19 virus.’ The mice were being kept in dangerous and unsafe conditions,” Mr. Wenstrup wrote in a letter to the FBI. “The city stated, ‘The tenant has been unable to provide evidence of any state or federal licenses or certifications that would permit the breeding and experimentation being conducted on these mice.’”
In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Wenstrup wrote, “Between May 2 and 4, 2023, staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Select Agents and Toxins inspected the lab and determined at least 20 potentially infectious agents were stored under inadequate conditions.”
According to documents, Mr. Wenstrup noted, a purported representative of Prestige provided false statements and claimed there were no infectious agents stored at the laboratory. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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