[Washington Examiner] A top House Republican wants to see the U.S. lead an international investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s "dangerous disinformation campaign" about the origins of the coronavirus.Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, made the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a letter sent on Thursday.
"I recommend that you consider pursuing a multilateral investigation into the CCP’s coronavirus coverup, which will underscore that their pandemic-enabling malfeasance is not just an American concern, but a global one," McCaul said. "To refute the CCP’s dangerous disinformation campaign, the United States should work with like-minded democracies, including Taiwan, to produce a definitive account of the origins of the virus, the CCP’s culpability, and whether CCP influence undermined the legitimacy of the WHO at this critical time."
The State Department declined the Washington Examiner’s request for comment, but Pompeo recently spoke forcefully on the issue.
"The Chinese Communist Party poses a substantial threat to our health and way of life, as the Wuhan virus outbreak clearly has demonstrated," Pompeo said following the G7 teleconference summit this week.
Western officials say top Beijing diplomats and Chinese state-run outlets have repeatedly pushed disinformation about the coronavirus’s origins, including blaming the U.S. military.
"The Chinese Communist Party lied and covered up the truth about the coronavirus," McCaul told the Washington Examiner. "Because of their actions, the disease has spread throughout the world sickening hundreds of thousands of people and killing tens of thousands."
Pompeo has repeatedly admonished the Chinese government for its denials about the coronavirus’s origins, and insists on calling the illness the "Wuhan coronavirus."