The National Targeting Center (NTC), a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, planned to subject British zoologist Peter Daszak to a Tactical Terrorism Response Team exam upon his arrival in New York City on February 5, 2021. However, an intervention by the FBI under President Biden prevented this inspection.
According to documents released by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the NTC identified Daszak’s extensive connections to security risks. The division was aware of his recent travels in China, his role on the World Health Organization team investigating SARS-CoV-2 origins, and his work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The NTC also noted that Daszak had used American grant funds for gain-of-function research, including studies conducted by a likely patient zero of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, he held contracts with the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical and Biological Threat Division and co-authored a 2013 study detailing the successful infection of human cells with a SARS-like coronavirus.
The NTC recommended Daszak undergo a Tactical Terrorism Response Team exam and had prepared specific questions to ask. However, a senior CBP officer serving as the agency’s Joint Terrorism Task Force liaison wrote that “the FBI New York requested we do not stop the subject below.” Customs and Border Protection complied by sending a message stating, “Please disregard request for inspection.” Senator Paul confirmed that “the inspection never took place.”
Daszak, who was debarred last year by the Department of Health and Human Services along with his organization EcoHealth Alliance, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The incident occurred days after the Biden administration began its presidency during the height of the COVID pandemic. Daszak previously denied having any standing relationship with U.S. intelligence agencies or being a witting informant.
