GOP Sen. Johnson presses HHS sec. for unredacted COVID-19 origin records

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has demanded that Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra account for his continued refusal to produce unredacted materials related to the origins of COVID-19.

Johnson first sought the materials in 2021 and received 4,000 pages of records, though HHS had redacted them under the Freedom of Information Act, to which his inquiry was not subject. He subsequently asked to view 400 pages of unredacted records, though HHS has still not permitted him to see 50 of those unredacted pages.

"It is well past time for HHS to meet its legal obligation and produce, without redactions, the approximately 50 pages of priority records my office identified in 2021," he wrote to Becerra. "You previously testified that I am 'absolutely entitled' to that information. Congress and the American people expect you to fulfill your responsibility and live up to your word."

"I request HHS provide a detailed privilege log for the approximately 50 pages of priority records listed in the enclosure. For each redaction contained in those records, I expect HHS to identify the specific privilege that HHS believes prevents it from removing the redaction," he went on. "If HHS cannot identify a valid privilege, those records should be produced to me without redactions immediately."

Johnson set a deadline of April 8 for Becerra to produce the materials and also pressed him to schedule a phone call or in-person meeting by the same date.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.