WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) released a statement praising the report released by Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), led by Congressman Brad Wenstrup (OH-02), on the origins of COVID-19.

Rep. August Pfluger: “The COVID-19 pandemic ended lives, closed businesses, destroyed livelihoods, devastated our economy, and robbed families of years that could have been spent together. Americans deserve to know exactly how the pandemic began without being labeled conspiracy theorists. Republicans will expose those who worked to cover up the lab leak theory and censor voices seeking truth. This report is a great first step toward providing the transparency and accountability we have promised.”

The full report is available here.
 
Highlights of the report below:

• Investigation revealed serious shortcomings with both the classified and declassified versions of the Intelligence Community’s (IC) Updated Assessment on COVID-19 Origins
• The IC withheld key information from the public in the declassified version of its Updated Assessment, information that could have been shared without damaging national security. These omissions likely skewed the public’s understanding of key issues
• The Committee believes the IC downplayed important information relating to the possible links between COVID-19 and China’s bioweapons research based in part on input from outside experts
• Findings conclude that there are indications that SARS-CoV-2 may have been tied to China’s biological weapons research program and spilled over to the human population during a lab-related incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology

The Committee will seek to declassify the classified version of their report in the next Congress. In addition, the Committee plans to explore all means at its disposal to require the IC to fully cooperate and comply until their requests are met with adequate information.