The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday immediately suspended all federal funding for Peter Daszak, president of the non-profit research organization EcoHealth Alliance, for violating federal grant protocols.
The announcement comes one week after HHS immediately suspended all funding for EcoHealth for misleading government agencies about its taxpayer-funded research activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which certain Republicans have said may have been the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Suspension and Debarment Official for HHS wrote in the action memorandum on the issue that the evidence against Daszak is sufficient to immediately suspend him and begin debarment proceedings, and that the step is “necessary to protect the public interest.”
“The NIH’s conclusion that WIV research likely violated protocols of NIH regarding biosafety is undisputed,” reads the action referral memorandum for Daszak’s case.
Daszak was listed as the principal investigator for a grant project to study bat coronaviruses in Wuhan, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The WIV was the sub-awardee, receiving funds from EcoHealth to conduct experiments in China.
Under the terms of the grant, Daszak was required to report potentially dangerous research conducted at the WIV, including the rapid growth of novel and chimeric coronaviruses that could have the potential to cause a deadly public health crisis.
When the NIH requested the lab notebooks and raw data that could prove that the experiments done at the WIV were not dangerous, Daszak was unable to provide the documentation.
“The information in the record established that EHA, and therefore Dr. Daszak, did not adequately monitor WIV’s compliance, and thereby EHA’s own compliance, with the terms and conditions of [the grant],” reads the action referral memorandum.
A spokesperson for EcoHealth told the Washington Examiner that they intend “to prove that debarment is not warranted in this case.”
“The proposed debarment actions against EcoHealth Alliance and Dr. Daszak are based on false assumptions, misrepresentations, misunderstandings of the science involved, and selective use of the evidentiary record,” the spokesperson said. “It is ironic and unfortunate that EcoHealth Alliance is being unfairly persecuted at a time when our research on emerging pathogens is more important than ever, and pathways of human infection are once again becoming a growing cause of international concern.”
The actions taken by HHS against both EHA and Daszak personally come within weeks of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic uncovering evidence that the NIH grant funds directed towards the WIV were improperly overseen by EHA.
“EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak’s personal debarment will ensure he never again receives a single cent from U.S. taxpayers nor has the opportunity to start a new, untrustworthy organization,” said Select Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) in a press release on Wednesday morning.
During Daszak’s public hearing on May 1, Democrats and Republicans on the subcommittee grilled the renowned scientist for nearly four straight hours of intense questioning, with partisans on both sides turning up the heat.
Although there is sharp division on the subcommittee regarding whether the experimentation at the WIV cause the COVID-19 pandemic, there is strong bipartisan agreement regarding the alleged misconduct of Daszak and EHA regarding the WIV grant.
HHS will undergo a formal debarment process for Daszak, which will be a long-term prohibition of receiving federal funds from any government agency. According to the General Services Administration, this is a primary public mechanism for protecting the federal government from fraud, waste, and abuse by avoiding “doing business with non-responsible actors.”
Debarment is usually only enforced for a period of three years but can be lengthened due to aggravating circumstances.
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“Dr. Daszak’s impending debarment does not shield him from accountability to the American people,” said Wenstrup. “The Select Subcommittee intends to hold Dr. Daszak accountable for any dishonesty and reminds him that this debarment decision does not preclude him from producing all outstanding documents and answering all the questions from this Congressional body.”
Subcommittee Republicans earlier this month recommended that the Department of Justice investigate Daszak under criminal statutes for knowingly making false claims to obtain government funds and deceiving the U.S. government by fraud.
