Attachment

RAND PAUL, KENTUCKY, CHAIRMAN RON JOHNSON, WISCONSIN JAMES LANKFORD, OKLAHOMA RICK SCOTT, FLORIDA JOSH HAWLEY, MISSOURI BERNIE MORENO, OHIO JONI ERNST, IOWA ASHLEY MOODY, FLORIDA GARY C. PETERS, MICHIGAN MARGARET WOOD HASSAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT JOHN FETTERMAN, PENNSYLVANIA ANDY KIM, NEW JERSEY RUBEN GALLEGO, ARIZONA ELISSA SLOTKIN, MICHIGAN Wnited States Senate COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6250 April 15, 2025 The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz Inspector General Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Inspector General Horowitz: As Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, I write to formally request that your office open an inquiry into the use of Confidential Human Sources (CHS) by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and to Confidential Informants (CI) by other Department of Justice (DOJ) components under your jurisdiction. Recent questions have arisen concerning the potential roles of Peter Daszak, Ph.D., and Ralph S. Baric, Ph.D., in matters related to public health, given their involvement in virology and emerging infectious disease research, as well as their affiliations with federally funded research institutions. In the interest of transparency, I request that your office determine whether Dr. Daszak or Dr. Baric have ever been designated, utilized, or compensated as a CHS or CI for the FBI or any other DOJ component. If so, please assess the circumstances of that designation, including the nature of their role, the timeframe of any such relationship, and any intersection with federally funded research or programs implicating national security or public health. Please also identify any applicable oversight mechanisms or approval processes and summarize, as appropriate, any payments or compensation received in connection with their service as a CHS or CI. Additionally, please examine whether the FBI or relevant DOJ component is aware of either individual having a relationship with any other U.S. government entity in a source, informant, or analogous capacity. If DOJ components are not aware of any such external affiliation, please describe any existing policies or procedures that guide how such affiliations might be identified or addressed. Please provide a written response no later than 5:00PM on July 14, 2025. Sincerely, Rand Paul, M.D. Chairman U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs