Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, is investigating a suspected illegal California biolab, which is owned by Chinese firm Prestige Biotech, to determine whether it was involved in dangerous research or other activities related to COVID-19 in the United States.
In March, local officials first inspected the facility located in an otherwise abandoned warehouse in Reedley, California, because they suspected it contained “various dangerous chemicals and/or materials in their unpermitted laboratory activities in the locked portion of the structure that may pose serious health and safety risks.”
The initial inspection found several hundred laboratory mice—being kept in unsafe conditions—that appeared to have been genetically altered to both catch and communicate the deadly virus that has killed more than 1 million Americans since January 2020.
In April 23 letters to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Mr. Wenstrup said he was initiating the investigation because “it is highly concerning that an unlicensed lab operated by a Chinese company on American soil was apparently conducting dangerous research involving COVID-19 and other viruses.”
“This assessment is critical to bolstering our ability to prepare for and prevent future pandemics,” he said.
“Further, it is clear from court documents that the bureau is involved in this matter. Therefore, we request documents and communications relevant to our inquiry and in the custody and control of the bureau.”
“This included chlamydia trachomatis, E. coli, Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 and 2 (HIV), Malaria, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, known as COVID-19).”
Mr. Wenstrup added that someone claiming to be a representative of the Chinese firm had provided statements that were found to be false, including that there were no infectious agents stored at the facility.
The facility was first discovered in December 2022, when Jesalyn Harper, a local code enforcement official, noticed something amiss.
Ms. Harper told The Epoch Times that she inspected the building after receiving an anonymous complaint about a possible business operating in the warehouse, which was thought to be vacant at the time.
The FBI was alerted and promptly imposed a blackout on any public statements about the facility.
“We had to be able to come out with as much information as we possibly could, but when the FBI and the CDC and everybody else in the alphabet soup of state and federal agencies tells you we cannot even comment whether we’re doing an investigation, you cannot comment,” Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba said.
“When they tell you that, you’re not going to defy the FBI.”
