Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says the federal government is withholding a "treasure trove of information about dangerous" gain-of-function biological research and he hopes that President-elect Donald Trump will help him get it into the public's hands.
"We're nearing the beginning of the real investigation because come January, with a friendly administration, we think we're going to get all of this information," he told the New York Post.
Gain of function research is the practice of enhancing a virus in a lab to study its potential real-world impact.
Republicans have accused Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert until he left the government in 2022, of being dishonest about government involvement in risky virus experiments and covering up the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
Paul, who plans to use subpoena power in his new role as Senate Homeland Security Committee to uncover "what happened with COVID," was told by a whistleblower that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has been privy to reports about dangerous research practices, including gain-of-function research, for years.
According to the Post, that information is gathered and reviewed biannually by the U.S. Government Policy for Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern.
A document about the policy says its purpose is to gather information about "life sciences research that … could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety … or national security."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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