Ecohealth Alliance president testifies to Congress
Peter Dashik is at the center of the controversy surrounding speculation about how COVID-19 may have started. House Republicans say his firm, Echo Health Quote, facilitated experiments on bats at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Ground Zero for theory is that COVID-19 came from a lab leak. They're based on myth and legends. The federal government shutdown Dashik's Wuhan work in 2020. Lawmakers accuse him of playing loose with a $4 million grant and conducting risky experiments. Lawmakers believe Dashik tried to cover up research once COVID break outbreak happened. You labeled the lab leak theory as conspiracy theory. That's not what I said. Actually, I said that there were conspiracy theories. Lawmakers suggest that since Dashik wasn't forthright, that may have fueled speculation about what went down in Wuhan. You knew that there were difficulties. When the taxpayers money is used for scientific research, it is imperative. That people comply with the rules. Some House lawmakers doubt that COVID came from nature. The intelligence community says, quote, most agencies say with low confidence that COVID-19 was not engineered, but the FBI and the Department of Energy say it could be from a lab leak. However, Democrats doubt there was a conspiracy. This is not the same as uncovering COVID-19 origin, nor is it evidence that our scientific community caused and has sought to cover up the origins of the pandemic. The GOP demands a criminal investigation into echo health. Both parties vow to cut funding for the firm. Chad Another issue. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green from Georgia says she will try to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson next week. That's right, Green will trigger her resolution next week. As you say, Democrats will likely rescue Johnson. Now we have Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats coming out embracing Mike Johnson with a warm hug and a big, wet, sloppy kiss because Mike Johnson is giving them everything they want. The House will actually vote on killing Greens resolution. That's one step away from a vote to oust the speaker. Brett. OK, Chad, we'll monitor that. Thanks.