Emails: WH Lied: EcoHealth Got DARPA $ for Virus Research

Newly released documents appear to contradict denials by the the U.S. government that the Defense Department funded activities by EcoHealth Alliance, the controversial nonprofit group that requested a government grant for risky virus research in 2018. Investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker published emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request Tuesday that show the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency funded researchers at the University of California at Davis who had partnered with EcoHealth Alliance on a pandemic preparedness program. 

u201cAlso, can someone explain how Peter Daszak gave himself a 24% pay raise in 1 year, yet @Ayjchan & @mattwridley are constantly called “grifters” for writing a book? And @USRightToKnow are “grifters” for using FOIA? https://t.co/KbJPBIJh9fu201d — Paul D. Thacker (@Paul D. Thacker)
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Last September, leaked documents revealed that EcoHealth Alliance president Peter Daszak had submitted a proposal to DARPA for a grant to collect bat viruses in China and then conduct gain-of-function research experiments with “humanized” and “batified” mice. The agency ultimately rejected Dasak’s proposal after reviewers determined it violated federal guidelines on gain-of-function research. When contacted by TheBlaze at the time, DARPA would neither confirm nor deny that EcoHealth Alliance submitted the proposal. “Information contained within bids is considered proprietary and can only be released by the bidder. That being said, DARPA has never funded directly, nor indirectly as a subcontractor, any activity or researcher associated with the EcoHealth Alliance or Wuhan Institute of Virology,” a spokesman for the agency said. However, the new emails reported by Thacker in his newsletter, the DisInformation Chronicle, contradict the agency’s statement. They show that just a few month …