The Guest Column: COVID-19 Origins

Dear Friend,

I hope you were able to reflect and give thanks for the many freedoms we enjoy over the Memorial Day weekend. Last Friday, I introduced a resolution to express that the House of Representatives “calls on the people of the United States to observe Memorial Day as a special day of remembrance to honor the men and women of the United States who died in the pursuit of freedom and peace.”

We can never repay the debt we owe the men and women who gave their lives for our great nation, but we can remain committed to the values they fought and died for – values such as hard-work, determination, and truth. We must always remember that we are blessed to be citizens of this great republic, to live in a nation that was divinely inspired, and to call this land our home.

COVID-19 Origins

Last week, I joined House Republican Whip Steve Scalise and over 200 members of the Republican Conference in calling for Speaker Pelosi to direct her committee chairs to join House Republicans in investigating the origins of COVID-19. Recent evidence has come to light that supports claims that COVID-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, and that evidence must not be ignored. House Republicans have called for numerous investigations to examine claims that the novel coronavirus pandemic originated in a lab and that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to hide or destroy evidence of COVID-19’s origins from international investigators; however, Members of the Democratic Party and media outlets dismissed these claims as conspiracies or distractions.

On the contrary, the Wall Street Journal has now reported that three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology displayed COVID-19-like symptoms in November of 2019. It has become clear that a coordinated effort from the United States and its allies is necessary to combat misinformation campaigns from the Chinese Communist Party. In our letter, Republicans outlined that the CCP has misled the world by:

  • coordinating with health officials to conceal the origins and spread of COVID-19;
  • leading propaganda campaigns to pass the blame for COVID-19 to other countries, including the United States;
  • silencing and censoring COVID-19 whistleblowers, researchers, physicians, and scientists;
  • threatening U.S. elected officials, including Members of the House; and
  • expelling American journalists.

President Biden has called for intelligence agencies to investigate COVID-19’s origins; but our intelligence community should not be left to bear the weight of this investigation alone. We need a coordinated effort in Congress to hold China accountable and ensure that any investigation is not influenced by the Chinese Communist Party in an attempt to hide or destroy evidence.

Furthermore, although Chinese officials have indicated they are open to an investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO), the influence the Chinese Communist Party has over the WHO would create another fruitless investigation like the previous investigations. In March, a joint WHO-China mission determined that COVID-19’s originating from a lab was “extremely unlikely,” a determination U.S. scientists now discredit. During that joint mission, WHO scientists were denied access to certain parts of the lab.

It is vital that Speaker Pelosi acknowledge their mistake in discrediting these claims and join Republicans in establishing a commission to investigate the Wuhan lab. For more information, you can read our letter calling for action.

BLM Flags Should Not Be Flown Over American Embassies

Recently, Secretary of State Antony Blinken “strongly encouraged” foreign embassies to use department resources to fly Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags. On its face, the Biden Administration encouraging the use of United States funds to fly inherently political flags is extremely inappropriate. Our country’s resources should be used to highlight our unity, not our political divisions. In no way are American embassies proper locations to signal political messaging, especially one as divisive in our nation as BLM.

BLM promotes a number of partisan and radical demands and initiatives. Protestors displaying BLM flags have threatened police officers, and the official organization supports defunding the police. Recently, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Foundation stepped down amid criticisms from other Black Lives Matter chapters for the foundation’s lack of transparency involving funds collected under BLM-sponsored fundraising.

In response to this unprecedented move, I cosponsored legislation to ensure that only American flags, host nation flags, U.S. state flags, federal entity flags, armed forces flags, and POW/MIA flags are flown on United States of America embassy grounds. The American flag must continue to remain the symbol of our shared American values.

In The News:

Sincerely,

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Michael Guest
Member of Congress