by PAUL BOIS at breitbart.com
The United States government reportedly made duplicate payments to fund projects at the Wuhan, China, laboratory — the proposed origin of the coronavirus pandemic.
Through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Wuhan lab in communist-controlled China allegedly received double the funds from research grants, according to a review of records by CBS News.
Diane Cutler, a federal investigator who has investigated white-collar crimes for over 20 years, called the double billing a “potential theft of government funds.”
“What I’ve found so far is evidence that points to double billing, potential theft of government funds. It is concerning, especially since it involves dangerous pathogens and risky research,” said Cutler.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) hired Cutler to investigate U.S. government grants going to high-risk research in China prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Her findings were then shared with the internal watchdog at USAID. Tens of millions of dollars could have potentially been stolen and sources close to the situation did not refute the report. Per the CBS News:
Cutler said she has viewed over 50,000 documents, and that the U.S. government may have made duplicate payments for possible medical supplies, equipment, travel and salaries.
A spokesperson for USAID declined to comment. A USAID inspector general spokesperson declined to comment “on the existence of a specific open investigation.” The press office for NIH did not respond to CBS News’ questions.
Sources told CBS News the investigation of possible double-billing could take at least six months to conclude.
Sen. Marshall has called for a congressional commission to investigate the grant funds that were sent to the Wuhan lab.
“I think there’s 1.1 million reasons that American taxpayers should care,” he said. “You’ll have a plane crashes. We want to find out why the plane crashes. We go to any lengths to do that. And the hope is we don’t have another plane crash for the same reason.”
Marshall also told the New York Post that “Americans deserve the truth, especially if our government had a hand in funding the creation of the coronavirus.”
“I am demanding transparency and accountability for the misuse of taxpayer funds. This probe is a step in the right direction. We must follow the money,” he said.