Letter sent to William J. Burns (Director of the Central Intelligence Agency) by Brad Wenstrup (Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic) and Mike Turner (Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence).
"Dear Director Burns:
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (Select Subcommittee) and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) (together 'the Committees') have received new and concerning whistleblower testimony regarding the Agency's investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
A multi-decade, senior-level, current Agency officer has come forward to provide information to the Committees regarding the Agency's analysis into the origins of COVID-19. According to the whistleblower, the Agency assigned seven officers to a Covid Discovery Team (Team). The Team consisted of multidisciplinary and experienced officers with significant scientific expertise. According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The seventh member of the team, who also happened to be the most senior, was the lone officer to believe COVID-19 originated through zoonosis. The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position.
These allegations, from a seemingly credible source, requires [sic] the Committees to conduct further oversight of how the CIA handled its internal investigation into the origins of COVID-19...
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is authorized to investigate 'the origins of the Coronavirus pandemic, including but not limited to the Federal Government's funding of gain-of-function research' and 'executive branch policies, deliberations, decisions, activities, and internal and external communications related to the coronavirus pandemic' under H. Res. 5. Under House Rule X, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has jurisdiction over all intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the departments and agencies of the U.S. government.
Further, House Rule XI clause 2(m)(l)(B) grants Committees of the House of Representatives with the authority to 'require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers and documents as it considers necessary.' Should the required information not be produced in an expeditious and satisfactory manner you should expect the Committee or Committees, to use its additional tools and authorities to satisfy our legislative and oversight requirements."
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