Sen. Marshall at COVID Origins Press Conference: “Cloak of Silence is Coming Down”

(Washington, D.C., March 1, 2023) – Earlier today, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. spoke with members of the Kansas press about recent developments related to the federal government’s assessment of the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Today’s press conference comes on the heels of new reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy’s assessment that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory, a stance also shared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

While you may click HERE or on the image below to watch the full press conference and Senator Marshall’s answers to reporter questions, Senator Marshall began the event by saying in part,

“Over 1 million Americans and more than 10 million people worldwide have died from the COVID virus, and here we are more than three years later and we still have not held China accountable for its origin. But that cloak of silence is coming down…This week we learned the Department of Energy is now joining the FBI in assessing this virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Because of this, momentum is building for an exhaustive, full throated, 9/11-style, non-political commission…Certainly the deaths of 1 million Americans, the destruction of our economy, the locking of our children out of schools, all this deserves an explanation. We need to know where this virus came from, and hopefully prevent future accidents…We started the work for this commission over two years ago and will continue to press forward in a bipartisan fashion. We cannot rely on this White House or administration, or frankly the press, to untangle this web and review all our research grant processes, as well as public health care policy…”

Senator Marshall’s Full Remarks as Prepared:

Over 1 million Americans and more than 10 million people worldwide have died from the COVID virus, and here we are more than three years later and we still have not held China accountable for its origin. 

But that cloak of silence is coming down, indeed this shroud of secrecy is coming off.  

This week we learned the department of energy is now joining the FBI, in assessing this virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.  

Because of this, momentum is building for an exhaustive, full throated, 9/11-style, non-political commission.

The Department of Energy determination is significant for several reasons. For starters, new evidence has convinced the Department of Energy and their scientists to change their conclusions. Just to be clear, a year and a half ago, the Department of Energy concluded this virus was more likely to come from nature, but today they believe it is from a lab in Wuhan, China. 

Of course, all of America would like to know what this new evidence is as we all look for closure on the nightmare we have all lived these past three years. We have called on the Department of Energy and the DNI to make this happen. 

We need to stop here and underscore for all Americans the significance of the FBI conclusions from over a year and a half ago when they assessed the virus came from the Wuhan lab.  

What every Kansan, what every American needs to understand is the FBI has a greater domestic footprint, and that they have expert scientists, which other intelligence agencies do not. Let me say again just to put an exclamation mark on this point.  The FBI has a cadre of expert scientists, plus special agent investigators, which other intelligence agencies do not. And perhaps more importantly, the FBI has the power to investigate and actually speak to the scientist themselves as they search for the truth. 

And indeed, it appears, the FBI has an investigation underway. For all these reasons and more, the FBI should have a weighted voice in this discovery process. 

Look, when a plane crashes in this country, we go to great lengths to determine the cause. Certainly, the deaths of 1 million Americans, the destruction of our economy, the locking of our children out of schools, all this deserves an explanation. We need to know where this virus came from, and hopefully prevent future accidents.  

Even today, our federal government is still funding deadly viral gain of function research similarly to what created COVID. 

In the past, these research dollars have come from not only the NIH, but also the State Department and the Department of Defense. Indeed, this is a very complicated web which deserves a full investigation.  

The truth needs to come out, and that’s why I’m once again calling for a non-political, 9/11-style commission. 

We started the work for this commission over two years ago and will continue to press forward in a bipartisan fashion. We cannot rely on this White House or administration, or frankly the press, to untangle this web and review all our research grant processes, as well as public health care policy.

Background on Senator Marshall’s Investigation into COVID Origins:

In August 2022, Senator Marshall asked the FBI for its assessment of COVID-19’s origins but was referred to the ODNI. You may click HERE to read Senator Marshall’s letter to the FBI and you may click HERE to read the FBI’s response.

Cornerstones of Senator Marshall’s investigation includes his leadership of Federal government policy reforms to U.S.-sponsored viral Gain-of-Function (GoF) research while pressing to hold federal public health officials accountable for the cover-ups of their contributions to this dangerous research with pandemic potential. Viral GoF research genetically manipulates a virus and to alter its transmissibility and infectiousness, which can cause the virus to be resistant to immune responses or vaccines.  

In August 2022 during a U.S. Senate hearing, Senator Marshall further raised the alarm on the dangers of viral GoF research projects, especially those conducted in China, He also highlighted Dr. Anthony Fauci’s efforts to offshore viral GoF research sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to China through EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that passed its grant awards to Chinese researchers, including those at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Expert witnesses testified this viral GoF research technique provides no benefit to public health and instead can transform a virus into a bioweapon.

Senator Marshall has repeatedly attempted to put a stop to the U.S. federal government’s involvement in GoF research. He sought unanimous consent on the Senator floor to pass his Viral Gain of Function Research Moratorium Act and SAFE Risky Research Act, two bills that would have limited GoF research sponsored by the American government. Both bills were blocked by Senate Democrats. Additionally, in a letter to the White House in November 2022, Senator Marshall demanded that the federal government implement a government-wide ban on all ongoing and new viral GoF and Dual Use Research of Concern studies in the life sciences involving all enhanced pathogens of pandemic potential due to the current lack of research oversight, clear guidelines, and potential risks of outbreaks from laboratory accidents.

When the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) refused to cooperate with the Senator’s investigative records requests, Senator Marshall used a mechanism available to him in the Senate to hold White House nominations until USAID produced records and as a result, the Senator has been receiving documents directly relevant to the U.S. funding of risky research in China that could have led to the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on evaluation of information obtained in the USAID records, numerous Senators joined Senator Marshall’s request to USAID to suspend ongoing grant awards to EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit organization that also received NIH grants and failed to produce evidence of the risky bat coronavirus research they conducted in China that could have caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Senator Marshall pressed Dr. Fauci for transparency in his financial income records when Dr. Fauci’s failed to disclose them despite requirements. As a result, Dr. Fauci produced previously unpublished documents about his finances that revealed up to $1 million in royalties paid to him from a medical book publishing company in a potential financial conflict of interest with his public health leadership role. As a result of this discovery, Senator Marshall later introduced the Financial Accountability for Uniquely Compensated Individuals (FAUCI) Act, which requires the public access of financial disclosures on the official Office of Government Ethics (OGE) website for administration officials like Dr. Fauci. Senator Marshall’s oversight efforts continued when Dr. Fauci announced his retirement and the Senator notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of its responsibility to maintain all documentation, including Dr. Fauci’s emails and other records.

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