Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina denounced the scientists who signed a letter published in the medical journal The Lancet back in Feb. 2020 claiming the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) naturally jumped from animals to humans. He said this was a "political document" put out to destroy the credibility of former President Donald Trump.
The president argued in favor of the theory that the virus was engineered at one of the labs in the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), where it accidentally infected an employee and leaked into the general populace.
The letter in The Lancet was signed by 27 public health experts who described the lab leak origin theory as "rumors" and "misinformation."
"We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin," the scientists wrote. "Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors and prejudice that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against this virus."
Letter helped Trump lose 2020 election
During an appearance on Fox News, Graham, speaking with Sean Hannity, said The Lancet's letter and the media's reaction to it strongly influenced the election. He suggested that it had something to do with Trump losing.
"This is the Russia dossier all over again. This stinks to high heaven. This is lab-gate, China-gate, call it whatever you want to call it," said Graham. "In other words, 27 scientists signed a political document shaming [Sen. Tom Cotton] and Trump and anyone else, shutting them up. The media took it and ran, and it changed the course of the election."
Graham suggested that the extensive ties the scientists had to the WIV prompted the writing and publication of the letter. "They were covering their a--," he said. "They put out a letter not based on science, but a political document trying to destroy the credibility of people who suggested it came out of a lab."
The senator added that, if The Lancet had not published the letter, Trump's image during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 would not have been tarnished. The lab leak origin theory would not have been severely discredited and Trump would have become one of the leading voices advocating to hold China responsible.
"More importantly, if it came out of the lab in China, he was right it was the China virus, and the 2020 election would have been about who could hold China accountable, Trump or Biden."
Graham added that, if it could have been proven early on that the coronavirus was an engineered virus that accidentally leaked out of a lab, "the public would want revenge against China." If that was the situation, the case to re-elect Trump would have been much stronger.
"Who would they turn to, Biden or Trump?" said Graham. "Who would you want in the room to hold China accountable for infecting the world with coronavirus? … If it were known in February [2020] that Trump was right, I think he'd be president today."
Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he explains how the coronavirus' laboratory origin means COVID-19 vaccines are bioweapons injections.
Questions raised regarding The Lancet's trustworthiness, impartiality
Since The Lancet letter was published, questions regarding its credibility and the bias of its writers have been raised. This is especially true given the involvement of Dr. Peter Daszak. He signed and helped organize the 26 other scientists who helped get the letter published.
Daszak's nonprofit, the EcoHealth Alliance, received grant money from the National Institutes of Health to conduct research. Daszak then funneled this money, paid for by American taxpayer dollars, to the WIV. (Related: Scientist at center of lab leak controversy put in charge of The Lancet's task force to investigate virus origin.)
Some of the other letter's signatories have softened their stances since its publication. The Daily Mail reached out to all 27 of them.
"I believe a thorough investigation about the origin of the COVID-19 virus is needed," said Dr. Peter Palese, a microbiologist working at New York City's Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "A lot of disturbing information has surfaced since the Lancet letter I signed [was published], so I want to see answers covering all questions." He declined to comment when asked how he was originally approached to sign the letter.
Other signatories now have similar attitudes but maintain that the evidence supposedly points to COVID-19's natural origin.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a researcher and tropical medicine expert, said: "The origins of SARS-CoV-2 are not yet certain … The best scientific evidence available to date points to [a natural origin]. It is most likely it crossed the species barrier to infect and then adapt to humans at some point in 2019, but there are other possibilities which cannot be completely ruled out and retaining an open mind is critical."
Leo Poon, a public health expert and professor at the University of Hong Kong, refused to answer. He said he did not want to discuss what is, to him, a "non-scientific issue." No other scientists contacted by the Daily Mail have responded, including Daszak.
Learn more about the coronavirus' lab leak origins at Pandemic.news.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.