Wednesday on MSNBC, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) dismissed the notion that the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) was “in cahoots” with the China Communist Party in hiding information about the coronavirus.
The Virginia Democrat senator made that statement despite President Donald Trump having recently announced he was halting funding from the organization over its response to the outbreak.
Warner said he has no “evidence” nor “indication” the W.H.O. was withholding information regarding the virus as it spread from China.
Anchor Craig Melvin asked, “Is there any reason to believe from an intelligence perspective that [the W.H.O. was] hiding any information?”
“I have no evidence and no indication that the W.H.O. was in any way in cahoots with the Chinese government,” Warner told Melvin. “We did know that China was fairly restrictive in terms of scientific access. Our scientists weren’t invited in. Other international scientists weren’t invited in. The only major organization that in a major way was invited in was the W.H.O. But as somebody who followed this pretty darn closely, I had no indication at all that somehow W.H.O. was holding back information.”
“If that proves to be the case, I’d like to see that information, but I have no evidence of that prior to this inquiry from the president,” he concluded.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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