WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. Wednesday morning spoke with members of the Kansas press about recent developments related to the federal government’s assessment of the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The news conference comes on the heels of new reporting of the U.S. Department of Energy’s assessment that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory, a stance also shared by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Over 1 million Americans and more than 10 million people worldwide have died from the COVID virus, and here we are more than three years later and we still have not held China accountable for its origin,” he said. “But that cloak of silence is coming down.. This week we learned the Department of Energy is now joining the FBI in assessing this virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.”

Because of this, momentum is building for an exhaustive, “full throated, 9/11-style, non-political commission,” he said. Certainly the deaths of 1 million Americans, the destruction of our economy, the locking of our children out of schools, all this deserves an explanation. 

“We need to know where this virus came from, and hopefully prevent future accidents, We started the work for this commission over two years ago and will continue to press forward in a bipartisan fashion. We cannot rely on this White House or administration, or frankly the press, to untangle this web and review all our research grant processes, as well as public health care policy.”

The Department of Energy determination is significant for several reasons, he said. “For starters, new evidence has convinced the Department of Energy and their scientists to change their conclusions. Just to be clear, a year and a half ago, the Department of Energy concluded this virus was more likely to come from nature, but today they believe it is from a lab in Wuhan, China.

“Of course, all of America would like to know what this new evidence is as we all look for closure on the nightmare we have all lived these past three years. We have called on the Department of Energy and the DNI to make this happen,” he said.

“What every Kansan, what every American needs to understand is the FBI has a greater domestic footprint, and that they have expert scientists, which other intelligence agencies do not,” Marshall said. “The FBI has a cadre of expert scientists, plus special agent investigators, which other intelligence agencies do not. And perhaps more importantly, the FBI has the power to investigate and actually speak to the scientist themselves as they search for the truth.”