WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) released the following statement in response to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic’s first hearing on the origins of COVID-19:

“The hearing today proves why it is essential to investigate the origins of COVID-19, and there is still much that needs to be uncovered. Through this first hearing, we learned that in September 2019, the control of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) changed from civilians to the Chinese military, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and China deleted genetic sequences, and the WIV changed their ventilation systems. These facts indicate that COVID-19 likely came from the Wuhan lab.

Evidence also leads one to believe that Dr. Fauci misled the public and coordinated with other scientists to intentionally suppress the lab leak theory. Fauci left then-CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield out of conversations regarding the origins of COVID-19 after Dr. Redfield told Dr. Fauci he believed that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak. The American people deserve to know why Dr. Fauci worked so hard to suppress the lab leak theory. We also need answers on whether the NIH, through grants to EcoHealth Alliance, used taxpayer dollars to fund research that directly led to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was just the beginning of the Select Committee’s investigation, and I remain committed to finding out the truth and delivering long-overdue answers on this pandemic.”

###