Heritage Foundation sues CIA for info about whistleblower allegations of cover-up of COVID-19 origins by agency

WASHINGTON, DC - In September, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued a press release where it was announced a CIA whistleblower had come forward and alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offered six analysts “significant monetary incentives to change their position on COVID-19’s origin.” 

The release continues that “the whistleblower, who presents as a highly credible senior-level CIA officer, alleges that of the seven members assigned to the CIA team tasked with analyzing COVID-19 origins, six officers concluded that the virus likely originated from a lab in Wuhan, China.”  

The whistleblower alleged that the CIA “allegedly offered financial incentives” to the experts to convince them “to change their conclusion in favor of zoonotic origin.”The CIA, according to the whistleblower, wanted the agencts to say the pandemic came not from a secret lab in Wuhan but instead that it appeared to have been transmitted by a bat. 

Now, Newsweek is reporting that the CIA is refusing to hand over information relating to COVID-19, according to a lawsuit filed by the Heritage Foundation last week, alleging the agency failed to produce documents requested through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request earlier this years. 

“This is an action under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552, to compel production of CIA records relating to allegations that members of the CIA’s COVID Discovery Team, a group of employees tasked with analyzing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, received monetary incentives to change their position on the origins of the virus,” the lawsuit, which Newsweek reviewed, says. 

“As of the date of this Complaint, CIA has failed to: (i) produce the requested records or demonstrate that the records are lawfully exempt from disclosure; (ii) notify Plaintiffs of the scope of any responsive records it intends to produce or withhold and the reasons for any withholdings; or (iii) inform Plaintiffs that they may appeal any adequately specific adverse determination,” the lawsuit continues. 

The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., asks for “a preliminary and permanent injunction” compelling the agency to expedite production of records requested within 20 days or “by other such date as the Court seems appropriate,” the New York Post reported. 

The lawsuit comes amid ongoing speculation as to the origins of the virus after a report from the Wall Street Journal said the Department of Energy determined with “low confidence” that the virus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. 

THe Heritage Foundation notes in their lawsuit that they filed a FOIA request relative to the CIA’s COVID Discovery team, seeking information on the virus’s creation, records among members, communications between members, and documents “regarding the pay history, to include the awarding of any type of financial or performance-based incentive/financial bonus to members of all iterations of the COVID Discovery Team(s).” 

The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project filed the FOIA request for the above information on Sept. 20, 2023. 

“Under FOIA, CIA has twenty (20) business days to produce responsive documents or issue a determination communicating the scope of the documents it intends to produce and/or withhold, the reasons for any withholding, and notify the requester that it may appeal any adverse determination,” the lawsuit alleges. “Twenty business days from October 25, 2023, is November 20, 2023,” Newsweek quoted the lawsuit as reading. 

“The Biden Administration has refused to be transparent with Congress and the American people over the origins of COVID-19,” said Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel for the Oversight Project. 

“A CIA whistleblower has made serious allegations that the agency bought off employees of the agency to further obstruct efforts to get to the truth of the virus’s origins. This obstruction cannot stand, and we’re fighting in federal court to get to the bottom of this.” 

The report in the Wall Street Journal supports the whistleblower who testified before the House subcommittee noted above. 

At that time, Tammy Kupperman Thorp, a spokesperson for the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs, told Newsweek:

“At CIA, we are committed to the highest standards of analytic rigor, integrity, and objectivity. We do not pay analysts to reach specific conclusions. We take these allegations extremely seriously and are looking into them. We will keep our Congressional oversight committees appropriately informed.” 

Recall that a number of former CIA officials, including at least two former directors of the spy agency, submitted an editorial in 2020 after the Hunter Biden laptop story was reported and claimed it had all the makings of a Russian operation. That has since been proven false, and the validity of the laptop has been confirmed. 

Newsweek said they reached out to the CIA and the Heritage Foundation via email for comment. None was received by press time.