NIH Won't Release Wuhan Biolab Docs Due To 'Pending Investigations'
Posted by freedomforall 3 years, 10 months ago to News
On April 15, when there were just 2 million cases and 128,000 COVID-19 deaths according to official counts (currently at 6.3 million infected / 376,000 fatalities), an organization called White Coat Waste filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the NIH for all correspondence with the State Department regarding the WIV, according to National Review.
Four days later, on April 19, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Michel Lauer, wrote in a letter to EcoHealth: "There are now allegations that the current crisis was precipitated by the release from Wuhan Institute of Virology of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. Given these concerns, we are pursuing suspension of Wuhan Institute of Virology from participation in federal programs."
Five days later, Lauer told the organization: "the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an Institute with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has elected to terminate the project . . . NIH does not believe that the current project outcomes align with the program goals and agency priorities."
So - nine days after the FOIA request from White Coat Waste to the NIH requesting communications with the State Department about the Wuhan institute, the NIH cuts funding to EcoHealth, the organization funneling US taxpayer funds to the lab experimenting with coronaviruses.
The FOIA request hit a brick wall on May 22, however, when the NIH's FOIA officer, Gorka Garcia-Malene, wrote back:
The records you requested involve pending investigations. I have determined to withhold those records pursuant to Exemption 7(A), 5 U.S.C. § 552 and (b)(7)(a), and section 5.31 (g)(l) of the HHS FOIA Regulations, 45 CFR Part 5. Exemption 7(A) permits the withholding of investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes when disclosure could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.
Four days later, on April 19, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Michel Lauer, wrote in a letter to EcoHealth: "There are now allegations that the current crisis was precipitated by the release from Wuhan Institute of Virology of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. Given these concerns, we are pursuing suspension of Wuhan Institute of Virology from participation in federal programs."
Five days later, Lauer told the organization: "the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an Institute with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has elected to terminate the project . . . NIH does not believe that the current project outcomes align with the program goals and agency priorities."
So - nine days after the FOIA request from White Coat Waste to the NIH requesting communications with the State Department about the Wuhan institute, the NIH cuts funding to EcoHealth, the organization funneling US taxpayer funds to the lab experimenting with coronaviruses.
The FOIA request hit a brick wall on May 22, however, when the NIH's FOIA officer, Gorka Garcia-Malene, wrote back:
The records you requested involve pending investigations. I have determined to withhold those records pursuant to Exemption 7(A), 5 U.S.C. § 552 and (b)(7)(a), and section 5.31 (g)(l) of the HHS FOIA Regulations, 45 CFR Part 5. Exemption 7(A) permits the withholding of investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes when disclosure could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.
As a guy who studied this virus very early on and has paid some attention to the news on it (and who's briefed officials due to my research)...this thing stinks. We aren't getting the whole story. We never will.
This expression is used both in the text and in comments.
There is strong evidence, tho' no documentation- yet, that it was constructed by blending, and the design objective was to enhance certain functions.
One of the many open questions is, how much did the US (etc) funding agencies know?
If they knew - real bad. If they did not know but were taken for a ride, they should have known - again, real bad.
The other part is to find out who in the US may have been culpable (like the Harvard professor already charged) as they would likely be subject to numerous felony charges including espionage and even treason. Giving away that information to a FOIA request would likely prejudice a potential jury.
I think they should release the information regarding the funding, as there is no ongoing investigation there - the NIH has already acted.
If it is just long enough to gather the necessary information to make a persuasive case - either to the world or in a court room - I think it is justified.
"Government" is just a collection of people. Whether or not those individuals are ethical is certainly a concern when we consider all that individuals allied with the deep state have done to try to perpetuate their power at the expense of a duly-elected President.