House Republicans on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis sent a letter to Chairman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) asking him to invite World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai to testify under oath "for their respective roles in exacerbating the coronavirus pandemic."
Signers of the letter, which was sent to Clyburn on Tuesday, include House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), and Mark Green (R-TN).
"Republicans in the House of Representatives have repeatedly attempted to work with our Democrat colleagues to hold China accountable for causing this pandemic as well as hold the World Health Organization (WHO) accountable for condoning China's actions. We will continue to do both," the letter states. "We urge you to immediately join our investigation and hold hearings to determine why the Chinese government denied and downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, and how China is now attempting to exploit the pandemic it caused."
Republicans wrote the select committee must investigate:
- China's obfuscation of the origin of COVID-19.
- China's manipulation of the WHO to cover up the severity of the outbreak.
- Recent reports that the Chinese government is stealing American medical research and disrupting the medical supply chain, among other tactics intended to exploit the pandemic.
"Given the serious nature of the allegations against China and the Subcommittee's broader goal of investigating any issues related to this pandemic, we urge you to immediately call WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros and Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai to testify," the Members conclude. "Furthermore, we urge you to convene such hearings in-person, in the Capitol, to convey the seriousness of our questions and to fulfill our constitutional obligation to conduct oversight in this extraordinary case."
The letter cites the warning President Trump sent to the WHO on Monday, stating if it does not implement radical changes to stop being under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party, then the funding freeze to the WHO will be permanent.
House Republicans have been critical of their Democratic counterparts appearing to be slow in trying to hold the CCP accountable for the global pandemic. One House GOP aide told Townhall Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee have made no effort to work with Republicans on investigating China or the WHO.
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