The Biden administration shielded British zoologist Peter Daszak from mandatory security screening upon his arrival in New York City on February 5, 2021, despite the National Targeting Center’s efforts to subject him to a Tactical Terrorism Response Team examination.
According to documents released by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center identified Daszak’s recent travel to China, his role on the World Health Organization team investigating SARS-CoV-2 origins, and his work with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The center also noted that Daszak had used American grant funds for gain-of-function research, including studies involving a virus likely linked to SARS-CoV-2’s patient zero.
The National Targeting Center’s February 2, 2021 email recommended that Daszak undergo a Tactical Terrorism Response Team examination. The document listed specific questions intended to be raised with Daszak during an inspection.
However, the Biden administration intervened. A senior Customs and Border Protection officer who served as liaison to the agency’s Joint Terrorism Task Force wrote: “Please be advised FBI New York requested we do not stop the subject below.” The agency then instructed CBP to “disregard request for inspection.”
Senator Paul confirmed that “the inspection never took place.” Daszak, who was debarred by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2023 along with his organization EcoHealth Alliance, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
During a 2024 congressional hearing, Daszak denied having a “standing relationship, either officially or unofficially, with any agency in the intelligence community” and claimed he was not a witting informant for U.S. intelligence agencies.
