Marshall calls on Fauci to not hinder COVID-19 origins investigation

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Senator Roger Marshall has amplified his call to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the President, to stop funding research in China with U.S. taxpayer money and to not hinder the investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) says he and U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) released a video on Monday, June 20, which details Dr. Anthony Fauci’s alleged involvement with a COVID-19 coverup.

“For over 2 years we have been investigating the origins of COVID-19 and our efforts have hit many roadblocks from Dr. Fauci. Frankly, it feels like a massive cover-up and we can’t get the answers we deserve,” Marshall said. “As a physician, I think we always need to know what, where, how, and perhaps why whenever any infectious disease outbreak occurs. Unfortunately, only complete access to all the data and samples will determine the truth. If bad actors continue to obfuscate and prevent this investigation from happening, we can’t take no for an answer.”

Sen. Marshall said the video follows Dr. Fauci’s refusal to stop using American taxpayer dollars to award grants to China after he was questioned by the Senator at a committee hearing.

Marshall said he and Rep. Jordan have been attempting to uncover the origins of COVID-19.

“I’m convinced Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins knew from the beginning that COVID-19 most likely came from a lab, and they took concerted steps to make sure our country didn’t get that information,” Jordan said. “Instead of owning up to the truth, Fauci and others in the medical community tried to convince us that the virus went from a bat to pangolin to a hippopotamus to Joe Rogan.”

At a hearing earlier in June, Marshall said when he asked Fauci if he would stop using U.S. taxpayer funds to pay for research projects in China - like EcoHealth Alliance’s activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology - he admitted his agency does not plan to do so.

When he joined the U.S. Senate in 2021, Marshall said he released a multi-step path forward that focuses on the origins of COVID-19 and holds China accountable for its actions in the earliest days of the outbreak.

Since then, Marshall said he has introduced the following COVID-19-focused legislation:

The Chinese Communist Party Accountability Act would place sanctions on two of the top officials in Chinese health with early ties to the COVID-19 outbreak who hid information.
The Viral Gain of Function Research Moratorium Act would place a moratorium on all federal research grants to universities and other organizations which conduct gain-of-function research and risky research on potential pandemic pathogens.
The National BioSecurity Improvement Act would ensure that federally-funded research which involves potentially dangerous pathogens does not compromise national security.
A resolution that calls for a bipartisan Select Committee to investigate the origins of the pandemic. A Senate-passed bipartisan amendment that calls for a transparent investigation into the COVID-19 outbreak was mandated by the World Health Assembly during its current session.
Co-sponsored legislation to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the pandemic’s origins and identify lessons learned in U.S. preparedness, response and recovery to improve the nation’s ability to respond to future outbreaks.

In March 2022, Marshall also noted that the U.S. Senate passed his legislation to end the pandemic-related national state of emergency currently in effect under the National Emergencies Act. He said former President Donald Trump invoked the NEA in March 2020 and Biden extended it twice.

Under the current NEA, Marshall said Congress is required to decide whether the emergency should continue - a process Congress has not fully enforced and ceded power to the executive. He said the U.S. House of Representatives has not voted on his legislation.