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Mississippi’s Republican Congressmen Sign Letter Calling for Investigation into COVID-19’s Origins

By: Anne Summerhays - June 7, 2021

Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson has not joined colleagues to call for an investigation.

Mississippi Congressman Trent Kelly (R-MS01), Michael Guest (R-MS03), and Steven Palazzo (R-MS04) joined more than 200 of their House Republican colleagues in urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Committee Chairs to investigate the origins of COVID-19. 

Of note, the state’s lone Democratic Congressman, Bennie Thompson of the 2nd Congressional District, has not called for such action despite being the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

According to a release, the letter follows a report by the Wall Street Journal revealing that three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology displayed COVID-19-like symptoms in November of 2019, which has revitalized calls for a probe to further examine the possibility that COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan lab.

“We request that you instruct the appropriate Democrat committee chairs to immediately join Republican calls to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its role in causing the global COVID-19 pandemic,” the Congressmen state in the letter. “There is mounting evidence the pandemic started in a Chinese lab, and the CCP covered it up. If that is the case, the CCP is responsible for the deaths of almost 600,000 Americans and millions more worldwide.”

The letter also calls for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to be held accountable for its role in the origins of COVID-19.

The letter specifically notes House Democrats’ concerning statements and legislative agenda, which have not focused on ensuring the CCP is held accountable for its role in COVID-19, and contrasts that to statements from officials in the Biden Administration demonstrating their interest in learning about the virus’s origins and the need for an independent investigation. The letter reinforces the need for Congressional action on this matter, as the World Health Organization’s report released on March 30, 2021, is not trustworthy, given the CCP’s role in the development of the study.

“This investigation is more urgent now considering the recent report that, according to U.S. intelligence sources, three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) became ill and sought hospital care in November 2019, a full month before the CCP publicly reported any COVID-19 cases,” the letter continues. “Although House Democrats have been mum on this new evidence, it certainly got the attention of the Biden Administration, which appears to share the concerns of House Republicans about the CCP’s role in the pandemic.”

The Congressmen hope House Democrats will abandon “their partisan agenda” and join House Republicans’ investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

“This is one of the most important questions we face.” the letter concludes.

Read the full text of the letter here or below:

Letter to Speaker Re COVID 19 Origins by yallpolitics on Scribd

About the Author(s)
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Anne Summerhays

Anne Summerhays is a recent graduate of Millsaps College where she majored in Political Science, with minors in Sociology and American Studies. In 2021, she joined Y’all Politics as a Capitol Correspondent. Prior to making that move, she interned for a congressional office in Washington, D.C. and a multi-state government relations and public affairs firm in Jackson, Mississippi. While at Millsaps, Summerhays received a Legislative Fellowship with the Women’s Foundation of Mississippi where she worked with an active member of the Mississippi Legislature for the length of session. She has quickly established trust in the Capitol as a fair, honest, and hardworking young reporter. Her background in political science helps her cut through the noise to find and explain the truth. Email Anne: anne@magnoliatribune.com