John Smyth
2025-02-07 17:09:00 UTC
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Permalinklab alone took home more than $50 million in taxpayer dollars'
<https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/follow_the_money_usaid_s_53_million_problem.html>
'John Jay once declared, “Those who own the country ought to govern it.”
The citizens of the Republic are its rightful stewards.
Yet unelected bureaucrats, operating in the shadows, funneled taxpayer
money into high-risk gain-of-function research—and when exposed, they
scrambled to cover their tracks. Only now are we beginning to grasp the
full extent of the federal government’s entanglement in dangerous
research conducted within the borders of our greatest adversary.
For years, government agencies—along with likely universities and
private corporations—have secretly financed these risky experiments—most
notably at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV)—without public
knowledge or accountability.
Recent investigations reveal as much as $53 million and counting in U.S.
taxpayer dollars funneled to Wuhan through USAID, the NIH, and the
EcoHealth Alliance.
The American people have a right to know how their money was spent, who
authorized it, and what consequences those responsible will face—if any.
Congress must pass legislation, and the president must, to the extent
allowed by law, issue an executive order mandating full disclosure of
any financial support for gain-of-function research in Wuhan—or any
other adversarial nation-state. This requirement must apply to:
Federal agencies (e.g., NIH, USAID, CDC, DOD)
State agencies
Public and private universities
Corporations, nonprofits, and NGOs
Noncompliance must result in severe legal consequences, including civil
penalties, immediate suspension of federal funding, and criminal
liability. The government must make noncompliance painful. Any federal
employee who obstructs or hinders any investigation, disclosure, or
destroys evidence must face immediate termination and prosecution, with
all benefits, including pensions, permanently revoked by legislative and
executive action.
Congressional Oversight and Investigations
Congress must launch an oversight investigation into USAID’s involvement
in gain-of-function funding, including:
Public hearings to expose the extent of federal involvement in high-risk
pathogen research.
Subpoenas for all material witnesses, including Anthony Fauci, Peter
Daszak, former USAID officials, and agency personnel tied to
Wuhan-related grants.
Full disclosure of all documents in their original, unredacted form,
including those previously withheld or redacted in any capacity.
Independent forensic audits to track every taxpayer dollar spent on
gain-of-function research.
Criminal referrals for officials who misled Congress or misallocated
funds.
Strict enforcement against witnesses who defy subpoenas or commit
perjury, including criminal contempt of Congress and perjury charges.
No complete shield from Biden-issued blanket pardons for criminal
actions tied to gain-of-function research outside the pardon’s scope. A
pardon may cover past offenses, but it does not exempt individuals from
testifying under oath, and they remain fully liable for new crimes such
as perjury or contempt of Congress.
Overhauls to USAID’s funding mechanisms to prevent future abuses and
ensure strict congressional oversight of foreign research funding unless
the agency is abolished outright.
Executive Action and Legislative Reforms
Congress must pass immediate legislation requiring full transparency and
accountability in all gain-of-function research funding. Concurrently,
to the extent allowed by existing law, the president should consider
issuance of an executive order mandating:
Mandatory Disclosure: Every federal agency, state agency, or university
must report all past and present financial ties to gain-of-function
research within 90 days.
Severe Penalties for Noncompliance: Entities failing to disclose funding
will face federal penalties, including financial sanctions,
ineligibility for future government grants, and an immediate freeze on
disbursement of federal funds during noncompliance.
Tightened Foreign Research Regulations: U.S. collaborations with foreign
laboratories engaged in gain-of-function work must be subject to strict
congressional oversight, mandated disclosure, and annual reviews.
Immediate Freeze on Foreign Research Funding
Given the deception surrounding U.S. funding to Wuhan, all federal
foreign research spending must be frozen unless authorized by Congress
or the president.
From now on, no discretionary spending on foreign laboratories should
occur without presidential approval or congressional authorization.
Federal funding for any foreign laboratory conducting pathogen research
must be subject to direct oversight by elected leaders in the Executive
and Congressional branches, full financial disclosure, and stringent
national security screening. The American people must never again be
left in the dark on matters of such profound consequence.
Restoring Public Trust
We live in a moment when distractions abound and outrage is manufactured
to obscure the truth. The progressive left and the legacy media will do
everything in their collective power to stop accountability in its
tracks. We cannot afford to lose focus or relent in this fight.
Congress and the Executive Branch must decisively restore public trust
and strengthen national security. The Wuhan funding cover-up represents
a direct betrayal of government accountability, and those responsible
must face the consequences.
Bureaucratic excuses will no longer suffice. Transparency,
accountability, and national security must come first.
No more secrecy. No more cover-ups. The American people deserve the
truth'