Braun & Hawley slam Biden admin for failure to release all info on COVID-19 origins, demand a full report

WASHINGTON — Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, after the Director and the Biden Administration failed to comply with the Senators’ COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, by releasing an incomplete report on the origins of COVID-19 well beyond the statutory deadline. The Senators demanded that Director Haines provide a new, complete report including any and all information pertaining to the origins of COVID-19, within seven days.

“On March 20, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, which we introduced in the Senate to help get to the truth about China and COVID-19,” the Senators wrote. “That law required the Director of National Intelligence to ‘declassify any and all information’ relating to links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. It also required that you ‘submit to Congress’ all of this information ‘not later than 90 days’ after the law’s enactment. You failed to comply with both requirements.”

They continued, “You—and the rest of the Administration—appear to be refusing to provide information about China’s role in and responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic in order to avoid upsetting Beijing. We invite you to try again. Within 7 business days, provide to Congress documentation that fully complies with the letter of the law to disclose ‘any and all information’ related to the origins of COVID-19 and a lab leak with minimal redactions.”

On Monday, March 20, 2023, President Biden signed into law Senator Hawley’s COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023. It was re-introduced in February of this year and unanimously passed in the Senate that same week. The bill was originally introduced in April 2021 and unanimously passed the Senate in May 2021.

Read the full letter here or below.

June 27, 2023

The Honorable Avril Haines
Director of National Intelligence
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Washington, D.C. 20511

Dear Director Haines:

On March 20, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, which we introduced in the Senate to help get to the truth about China and COVID-19. That law required the Director of National Intelligence to “declassify any and all information” relating to links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. It also required that you “submit to Congress” all of this information “not later than 90 days” after the law’s enactment.

You failed to comply with both requirements. The deadline was June 18, 2023. Well past the statutory deadline, your office published a declassified report after business hours on June 23. And the report itself was a paltry five pages of information, plus a cover page and appendix. Obviously, the U.S. government is in possession of more information than that. This half-baked effort falls woefully short of the statutory requirements and undermines congressional intent.

Your failure to comply with the law is especially worrisome in light of recent events. The Biden administration, including ODNI, has exhibited a concerning level of deference towards China, including obfuscating the extent of China’s intelligence cooperation with Cuba and downplaying the seriousness of China’s intelligence collection activities over U.S. airspace. You—and the rest of the Administration—appear to be refusing to provide information about China’s role in and responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic in order to avoid upsetting Beijing.

We invite you to try again. Within 7 business days, provide to Congress documentation that fully complies with the letter of the law to disclose “any and all information” related to the origins of COVID-19 and a lab leak with minimal redactions. If you fail to do so, we would welcome your testimony before Congress on this matter so you may answer questions under oath. The American people deserve to know the truth about China’s role in the origins of COVID-19.

Sincerely,

Josh Hawley
United States Senator

Mike Braun
United States Senator