"Sen. accuses CDC official in charge of Covid injections of deleting records amid Congressional scrutiny"

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has accused a key official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of deleting records, ostensibly to impede investigations by Congress on the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Johnson pointed his finger at the CDC's Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, who is responsible for overseeing COVID-19 safety. The senator put forward his accusation in letters addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel and Juliet Hodgkins, acting inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"HHS officials recently informed me that Dr. Shimabukuro's records remain lost and, potentially, removed from HHS' email system altogether," Johnson wrote. The senator for the Badger State pointed out that the CDC official's "potential mishandling of his official records" was "highly concerning."

Given this development, Johnson called upon Bondi, Patel and Hodgkins to investigate whether Shimabukuro and other officials in agencies under the HHS "deleted or destroyed official agency records." The senator also demanded an inquiry into whether files were intentionally deleted to "avoid or subvert Congressional oversight or the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."

"Any attempt to obstruct or interfere with my investigatory efforts would be grounds for contempt of Congress," Johnson warned. Anybody found guilty of contempt of Congress faces a hefty fine and 12 months behind bars.

Under the Federal Records Act, government officials are required to preserve materials "made or received by a federal agency under federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business." It was enacted in 1950 to prevent the loss of government documents – a response to past incidents where vital records were destroyed to avoid scrutiny.

Shimabukuro isn't the only one allegedly guilty of violating this law, however. Dr. David Morens of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has previously been in the crosshairs of Johnson and other GOP lawmakers. Morens, a longtime adviser to former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, went under fire after emails where he admitted to avoiding official correspondence channels were made public.

"I always communicate on Gmail because my NIH email is FOIA'd constantly," Morens wrote in an email from 2021. "I delete anything I don’t want to see in the New York Times."