I always miss Leslie, especially when coming across big news about COVID.
The Pentagon admitted it could not find how much money it had sent to Chinese research labs “for research related to enhancement of pathogens of pandemic potential.”
Before I provide as many details as I can, let me show you this part because if the Pentagon cannot have a narrow scope, then idiots run the asylum (emphasis mine):
Finally, it was not possible for us to identify a single source that encompasses all pathogens of pandemic potential. This is primarily because the various authoritative sources we consulted employed different criteria to define what constituted a pandemic. As a result of these discrepancies and the lack of comprehensive authority outlining the definitive characteristics of pandemic‑potential pathogens, we were unable to conclusively determine which pathogens fell under this designation.
With that in mind, let’s get into it!
The Pentagon must identify and report to Congress:
(U) …the amount of Federal funds awarded by the Department of Defense (whether directly or indirectly) through grants, contracts, subgrants, subcontracts, or any other type of agreement or collaboration, during the 10‑year period immediately preceding such date of enactment, that—(U) (1) was provided, whether purposely or inadvertently, to—(U) (A) the People’s Republic of China;(U) (B) the Communist Party of China;(U) (C) the Wuhan Institute of Virology or any other organization administered by the Chinese Academy of Sciences;(U) (D) EcoHealth Alliance, Inc. for work performed in China on research supported by the Government of China, including any subsidiaries and related organizations that are directly controlled by EcoHealth Alliance, Inc.;(U) (E) the Academy of Military Medical Sciences or any of its research institutes, including the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology; or(U) (F) any other lab, agency, organization, individual, or instrumentality that is owned, controlled (directly or indirectly), or overseen (officially or unofficially) by any of the entities listed in subparagraphs (A) through (E); or(U) (2) was used to fund research or experiments that could have reasonably resulted in the enhancement of any coronavirus, influenza, Nipah, Ebola, or other pathogen of pandemic potential or chimeric versions of such a virus or pathogen in the People’s Republic of China or any other foreign country.
The Pentagon found 12 Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP):
For seven awards, a prime awardee provided funds to a subawardee or contracting research organization in China or other foreign countries for research related to potential enhancement of pathogens of pandemic potential. In addition, the Army identified five awards for $9.9 million to prime awardees that subawarded costs or contracted for services with Chinese entities for research activities unrelated to the enhancement of pathogens.
Their research found 13 projects worth $46.7 million given to EcoAlliance from 2014-2023. They claimed no funding went to China or “research involving enhancement of pathogens.”
It’s so weird. The maps showing the army’s CDMRP Pathogen Enhancement Projects from 2014-2023 are all blacked out.
SO WEIRD.
What happened? Incompetence:
Throughout our review, we discovered significant constraints with the accessibility and comprehensiveness of data housed within, or maintained by, the DoD’s information systems. These limitations hindered our ability to conduct a thorough examination of DoD funds allocated for research activities, including those activities related to enhancement of pathogens of pandemic potential. The limited time frame prescribed by Congress also restricted the procedures we performed.
The GAO tried to confirm awards through the USASpending.gov website. However, no one could “find the data sufficiently reliable to report on for the purposes of reporting objectives.”
“Specifically, the GAO report stated that information on Federal research funds provided through subawards to Chinese entities is not fully known because of limitations in the data provided in response to Federal reporting requirements for subawards,” according to the report.
The investigation also revealed that none of the Pentagon departments used “a budget line or any other consistent indicator” that could help people easily search or review “databases of grants, contracts, and other transaction agreements.”
The Pentagon also does not track with enough details “to completely and accurately determine if the DoD provided funding to Chinese research laboratories or other foreign countries for research related to the enhancement of pathogens of pandemic potential.”
Once the money goes to the subaward, the Pentagon loses sight of the money:
For example, when the DoD awards funds to an entity, the entity often provides some of those funds to other organizations for subawards or contracted services. DoD officials stated that during the initial grant application process, they have visibility over who the subaward recipients are intended to be. However, we found that DoD organizations lacked visibility of subaward information over the life of contracts and grants. DoD organizations can change subawardees during the performance period without documenting these changes. DoD officials stated that DoD organizations are not required to track subaward information beyond the initial application process. According to Office of Management and Budget guidance, the quality of data that award recipients report is the legal responsibility of the award recipient. The guidance further provides that agencies are not required to certify the quality of subaward data made available on USAspending.gov.
The Pentagon said people can only manually “identify potentially relevant contracts and grants.” A person must “review the statement of work within each grant and contract.”
“This report confirms that Washington hasn’t learned any lessons from COVID,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) told the Washington Free Beacon. “There is zero reason for taxpayers to be funding risky Chinese research that could be used against Americans. We need real accountability from the Pentagon explaining what on earth is going on and to pass my TRACKS Act, which will require every penny sent to mad scientists in China be accounted for and the receipts be publicly posted.”
In September, a whistleblower claimed the CIA tried to bribe analysts on the COVID Discovery Team to cover up any COVID lab leak findings.
“According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China,” wrote the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Only one member of the team thought COVID came from zoonosis.
But to conclude “uncertainty,” the whistleblower said “the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position.”
A report from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee concluded COVID originated in a lab as part “of a research-related incident.”
Even the Department of Energy concluded COVID leaked from a lab.
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