GOP Senators to Investigate WHO’s Role in China’s Coronavirus Cover-Up

Several Republican senators sent a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, demanding information relating to the organization’s role in helping China cover up the coronavirus.

Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Todd Young (R-IN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-FL), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus requesting information ahead of a congressional hearing regarding the WHO’s role in helping the Chinese government cover up information regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

The Republican senators noted that the WHO has ignored calls for the agency to investigate the spread of the coronavirus.

The senators wrote:

Ahead of an anticipated congressional hearing, we write today to request information regarding the WHO’s failed and delayed response to the Coronavirus. American taxpayers fund the WHO, and it is up to us to make sure those taxpayer dollars are being spent wisely.

The Republicans asked:

1. What protocols and procedures did the WHO have in place for epidemics, suspected pandemics, and pandemics prior to December 2019?
2. Please outline what steps were taken by the WHO, in accordance with protocols and procedures for epidemics, suspected pandemics and pandemics, as a result of the Coronavirus.
3. When did the WHO first know China had cases of a potential “SARS-like virus”?
4. When did the WHO team first arrive in China to start investigating the Coronavirus?
5. Who at the WHO was in charge of coordinating coronavirus response with the Chinese Communist Party?
6. Do any members of WHO leadership receive financial compensation outside of their WHO salaries? If so, please describe.

Many of these Republican lawmakers have called on public officials to investigate China’s role in the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.

Daines called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate China’s role in covering up the coronavirus outbreak.

Scott called on Congress to hold a congressional hearing to investigate the WHO’s role in helping cover up China’s failure to contain the pandemic.

Scott said in a statement in March:

The mission of the WHO is to get public health information to the world so every country can make the best decisions to keep their citizens safe. When it comes to Coronavirus, the WHO failed. They need to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic. We know Communist China is lying about how many cases and deaths they have, what they knew and when they knew it – and the WHO never bothered to investigate further. Their inaction cost lives.

“American taxpayers deserve answers about how their taxpayer dollars are spent, and whether Congress should continue to spend millions of dollars every year to fund the WHO. Please provide your response by Monday, April 27,” the senators concluded in their letter to the WHO.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.