Sen. Braun urges the release of U.S. COVID-19 origin info – WANE

INDIANAPOLIS Indiana United States Sen. Mike Braun is pushing President Joe Biden to release information regarding the origin of the COVID-19 virus.

He co-authored a bill on this topic over a month ago, but his efforts are now gaining traction after recent reports show three researchers from Chinas Wuhan lab were hospitalized in November of 2019.

Braun said he hopes his bill isnt needed. He wants the President to declassify U.S. documents related to the origin of COVID-19 without legislation demanding it. Hes confident there will at least be a conversation about this after Wednesdays discussion with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health.

This shouldnt be political, said Sen. Braun

He said everyone should want certainty about the source of the COVID-19 virus.

I still believe that the most likely scenario is that this was a natural occurrence, but no one knows that 100 percent for sure, said Dr. Fauci.

Thats why Braun believes there should be an in-depth investigation. He wants it to start with the United States sharing what we know.

Not only did he propose legislation to declassify info related to the origin of the pandemic, he also asked Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins to urge the president to release this information to the public.

Im not sure its my place to tell the president of the united states said Fauci as Sen. Braun interrupted.

Youve been very engaging on a wide range of topics and I think he would respect your opinion as much as anyone, added Braun.

Im just not in a position to know what might be in the classified documents, what else might be there that would not be relevant to this, might actually be harmful to national security, explained Dr. Collins.

Braun said he supports redacting whats necessary and then releasing what we can.

And then we can say, hey this is meaningful or there was nothing there but until we look at it, you wont know, said Braun.

I take your point, but I know the president is very interested also in seeing truth come out here, said Collins.

Why wasnt this something that was focused on from the beginning? asked reporter Kayla Sullivan.

Because it arose in a country thats not known for transparency, said Braun. He said he wants the United States to be a leader in transparency.

Something has changed in the dynamic over the last week or two, said Braun. And to me, it would be the ultimate cover up if you didnt pry further, especially with the information you house within your own intelligence agencies.

Braun said those agencies would include the Department of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security.

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Sen. Braun urges the release of U.S. COVID-19 origin info - WANE