Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,.
Reports indicate that records from a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are missing, as confirmed by the CDC’s parent agency to a U.S. senator.
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) informed him in March that they are facing challenges in locating these records. Recently, HHS officials stated that Dr. Tom Shimabukuro’s records are still missing and may have been removed from the HHS email system entirely.
Dr. Shimabukuro serves as the director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety Office, focusing on vaccine safety research. Despite multiple requests for comment, Shimabukuro, the CDC, and HHS have remained silent.
Senator Johnson, the chairman of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, expressed concern over the potential mishandling of records by Dr. Shimabukuro. He emphasized the importance of preserving records related to the development, safety, and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
Furthermore, Johnson called for an investigation to determine if Dr. Shimabukuro and other HHS officials deliberately deleted or destroyed agency records to evade congressional oversight or Freedom of Information Act requests.
In a similar incident, NIH scientist Dr. David Morens was previously found to have discussed making emails disappear to avoid FOIA requests. Senator Johnson has also requested an investigation into Morens’ actions by the HHS inspector general.
The lack of transparency from the HHS Office of Inspector General regarding the initiation of these investigations has raised concerns about the effectiveness of their oversight.
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