🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 102 (from laksa049)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa102.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.aol.com/exclusive-usaid-quietly-sent-thousands-120010189.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.aol.com/exclusive-usaid-quietly-sent-thousands-120010189.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.aol.com\/exclusive-usaid-quietly-sent-thousands-120010189.html","crawl_time":1754509503,"first_indexed_time":0,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,aol!www,\/exclusive-usaid-quietly-sent-thousands-120010189.html s443","src_root_hash":"10243928666277241102","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"EXCLUSIVE: USAID Quietly Sent Thousands Of Viruses To Chinese Military-Linked Biolab","meta_descriptions":["The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"The entrance to the now shuttered USAID office can be seen as black plastic covers a USAID sign at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on April 1, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images) ©ROBERTO SCHMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents. The  documents show  that USAID funded the exportation of 11,000 samples from Yunnan Province, where some of the closest relatives of the COVID-19 virus circulate, to Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, with no apparent plan for ensuring the samples were not misdirected to bioweapons and remained accessible to the U.S. government. A  $210 million  USAID public health program called PREDICT, steered by the University of California-Davis, collected viral samples in countries throughout the globe but lacked long-term storage when funding dried up, according to rudimentary plans in 2019. USAID’s sample dispensation plan for China is sparse: “No need [sic] information from Yunnan. They were never an official lab partner for PREDICT. All samples they helped collected [sic] are sent to, tested, and stored in Wuhan.” The “lab” refers to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). WIV was a close partner of USAID contractor EcoHealth Alliance and a slated partner for a PREDICT-like program supported by the  State Department . The lab has poor  biosafety practices  and  ties  to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). (RELATED: US Group Connected To Wuhan Lab Is Stonewalling Congressional Investigation Of Pandemic Origins, Committee Ranking Member Says) One of the closest known relatives of the COVID virus is  among the viruses sampled  with USAID funding. “Investigations involving USAID’s former funding of global health awards remain active and ongoing,” a senior State Department official said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The American people can rest assured knowing that under the Trump Administration we will not be funding these controversial programs.” The  internal documents  were obtained through a FOIA lawsuit brought by U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit newsroom and public health research group. The national flag of China is displayed in a street on October 1, 2023 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Photo by Getty Images) The shuttering of USAID – which was officially completed Tuesday – has ignited a debate about its net impact on global health. A study in  The Lancet 01186-9\/fulltext) projected an association between a dropoff in USAID funding and 14 million deaths based on an epidemiological model.  (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: State Department Ends Decades-Long Program Paying Under-Performing Diplomats) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday that USAID spending has often undermined rather than strengthened American interests.  (RELATED: USAID Wasted Billions Of Tax Dollars On Programs That Actively Harmed Americans. Here Are The Receipts) “Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,”  Rubio said . “Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.” The now-defunct agency’s connection to the Wuhan lab complicates its global health legacy. “The USAID $210 million contract for PREDICT should have included contractual terms that required all samples, or at least copies of all samples, be transferred to and stored by a US government facility,” said Rutgers University molecular biologist Richard Ebright told the DCNF. “The PREDICT grift did none of this.” UC Davis did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.  (RELATED: Out Of Control Spending, Marxism And ‘DEI Privilege Walks’: How USAID Became Progressive Slush Fund Under Biden) Did USAID Fund COVID’s Ancestor? Many of the viruses stored at the lab in Wuhan may have been sampled with U.S. funding yet remain out of reach for U.S. government entities investigating the origins of COVID. The samples were set to be preserved for testing – with human samples preserved for 10 years – the documents show. But the documents suggest that requirement was never incorporated into a formal contract with USAID. The two scientists supervising the samples were: Ben Hu, a virologist at the WIV, who  reportedly  became sick with COVID-like symptoms in 2019; and Peter Daszak, a scientist who was  debarred  from federal funding after the U.S. government deemed him a threat to public safety for inadequate oversight of the research in Wuhan. Hu and Daszak did not reply to requests for comment. The documents show PREDICT contractors discussing viral samples taken from wildlife and stored in India, Liberia, Malaysia, the Republic of Congo and China. Some of the samples were stored in virus-transport media (VTM), which allows researchers to store live viruses for later use in the lab. “It’s not rocket science to require a contract and supporting paperwork which establishes a relationship, testing protocol, and chain of custody, when one is sending out lab samples,” said Reuben Guttman, a partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC who specializes in ensuring the integrity of government programs, in an interview with the DCNF. “In any scientific endeavor, you need confidence in your results. That requires paperwork to prove your methodology is sound.” All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact  licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/exclusive-usaid-quietly-sent-thousands-120010189.html#main)\n\n- [..., Nord-Pas-de-Calais Roubaix, Nord-Pas-de-Calais Local News](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/local\/ \"Local\")\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/products?ncid=mbr_rusacqlnk00000036 \"Subscriptions\")\n- [Animals](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/animals\/ \"Animals\")\n- Finance\n- [Food](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/food\/ \"Food\")\n- [Games](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/games\/ \"Games\")\n- Health\n- [Home & Garden](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/home-garden\/ \"Home & Garden\")\n- News\n- [Shopping](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/shopping\/ \"Shopping\")\n- [Style](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/style\/ \"Style\")\n- [Travel](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/travel\/ \"Travel\")\n\n- Main Menu\n- Finance\n- [Finance](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/finance\/ \"Finance\")\n- 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[Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/products?ncid=mbr_rusacqlnk00000036 \"Subscriptions\")\n- [Animals](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/animals\/ \"Animals\")\n- Finance\n- [Food](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/food\/ \"Food\")\n- [Games](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/games\/ \"Games\")\n- Health\n- [Home & Garden](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/home-garden\/ \"Home & Garden\")\n- News\n- [Shopping](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/shopping\/ \"Shopping\")\n- [Style](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/style\/ \"Style\")\n- [Travel](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/travel\/ \"Travel\")\n\n- Main Menu\n- Finance\n- [Finance](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/finance\/ \"Finance\")\n- [Banking](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/finance\/banking\/ \"Banking\")\n- [Business News](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/business\/ \"Business News\")\n- [Estate & Retirement Planning](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/finance\/retirement-planning\/ \"Estate & Retirement Planning\")\n- [Loans & Mortgages](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/finance\/mortgages\/ \"Loans & Mortgages\")\n\n- Main Menu\n- Health\n- [Health](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/health\/ \"Health\")\n- [Medicare](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/health\/medicare\/ \"Medicare\")\n\n- Main Menu\n- News\n- [News](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/ \"News\")\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/business\/ \"Business\")\n- [Entertainment](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/entertainment\/ \"Entertainment\")\n- [Lighter Side](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/lifestyle\/ \"Lighter Side\")\n- [Politics](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/politics\/ \"Politics\")\n- [Science & Tech](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/science-tech\/ \"Science & Tech\")\n- [Sports](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/sports\/ \"Sports\")\n- [Weather](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/weather\/ \"Weather\")\n\n# EXCLUSIVE: USAID Quietly Sent Thousands Of Viruses To Chinese Military-Linked Biolab\n[![The Daily Caller](https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/iLPtgCGvttJO4BISFr4LFg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTE5ODtoPTgw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-03\/6e5fd010-0997-11f0-ae76-ed8beeb4b9e3)](https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/)\n\nEmily Kopp\n\nJuly 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM\n\n- Copied\n\n![The entrance to the now shuttered USAID office can be seen as black plastic covers a USAID sign at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on April 1, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images) ©ROBERTO SCHMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images](https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/3xLLJZwLbEbdzjPn1VNjGg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD01MzQ-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_daily_caller_375\/b78b12b0a54ad4d6cb3d29c9e283ffae)\n\nThe entrance to the now shuttered USAID office can be seen as black plastic covers a USAID sign at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on April 1, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images) ©ROBERTO SCHMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images\n\nThe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents.\n\nThe [documents](https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GRANT_CP006_000095051_Redacted.pdf) [show](https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/P2-CHINA-Sample-Disposition_2-October-2019_FINAL-3.pdf) that USAID funded the exportation of 11,000 samples from Yunnan Province, where some of the closest relatives of the COVID-19 virus circulate, to Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, with no apparent plan for ensuring the samples were not misdirected to bioweapons and remained accessible to the U.S. government.\n\nA [\\$210 million](https:\/\/usrtk.org\/risky-research\/state-usaid-endorsed-virus-project-with-china-despite-national-security-risks\/) USAID public health program called PREDICT, steered by the University of California-Davis, collected viral samples in countries throughout the globe but lacked long-term storage when funding dried up, according to rudimentary plans in 2019.\n\nUSAID’s sample dispensation plan for China is sparse: “No need \\[sic\\] information from Yunnan. They were never an official lab partner for PREDICT. All samples they helped collected \\[sic\\] are sent to, tested, and stored in Wuhan.”\n\nThe “lab” refers to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). WIV was a close partner of USAID contractor EcoHealth Alliance and a slated partner for a PREDICT-like program supported by the [State Department](https:\/\/usrtk.org\/risky-research\/state-usaid-endorsed-virus-project-with-china-despite-national-security-risks\/). The lab has poor [biosafety practices](https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/senate-report-covid-19-origin-wuhan-lab) and [ties](https:\/\/usrtk.org\/covid-19-origins\/cables-wuhan-institute-of-virology-classified-research\/) to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).**[(RELATED: US Group Connected To Wuhan Lab Is Stonewalling Congressional Investigation Of Pandemic Origins, Committee Ranking Member Says)](https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/01\/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-francis-collins-peter-daszak-wuhan-institute-of-virology\/)**\n\nOne of the closest known relatives of the COVID virus is [among the viruses sampled](https:\/\/usrtk.org\/covid-19-origins\/us-funded-discovery-of-close-covid-19-relative\/) with USAID funding.\n\n“Investigations involving USAID’s former funding of global health awards remain active and ongoing,” a senior State Department official said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The American people can rest assured knowing that under the Trump Administration we will not be funding these controversial programs.”\n\nThe [internal documents](https:\/\/usrtk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/UCDPRA24637-combined.pdf) were obtained through a FOIA lawsuit brought by U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit newsroom and public health research group.\n\n![]()\n\n![](https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/zaj9pSnhI6j2sx_0u.oYpw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD01MzQ-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/the_daily_caller_375\/7187c4311a227d195f3831b20427c019)\n\nThe national flag of China is displayed in a street on October 1, 2023 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Photo by Getty Images)\n\nThe shuttering of USAID – which was officially completed Tuesday – has ignited a debate about its net impact on global health. A study in [The Lancet](https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736\\(25)01186-9\/fulltext) projected an association between a dropoff in USAID funding and 14 million deaths based on an epidemiological model. **[(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: State Department Ends Decades-Long Program Paying Under-Performing Diplomats)](https:\/\/www.aol.com\/news\/exclusive-state-department-ends-decades-203444093.html)**\n\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday that USAID spending has often undermined rather than strengthened American interests. **[(RELATED: USAID Wasted Billions Of Tax Dollars On Programs That Actively Harmed Americans. Here Are The Receipts)](https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/02\/03\/donald-trump-foreign-aid-freeze-usaid-state-department-bondoggles\/)**\n\n“Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” [Rubio said](https:\/\/x.com\/statedept\/status\/1940037342732894345?s=46). “Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.”\n\nThe now-defunct agency’s connection to the Wuhan lab complicates its global health legacy.\n\n“The USAID \\$210 million contract for PREDICT should have included contractual terms that required all samples, or at least copies of all samples, be transferred to and stored by a US government facility,” said Rutgers University molecular biologist Richard Ebright told the DCNF. “The PREDICT grift did none of this.”\n\nUC Davis did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. **[(RELATED: Out Of Control Spending, Marxism And ‘DEI Privilege Walks’: How USAID Became Progressive Slush Fund Under Biden)](https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/02\/19\/usaid-spending-marxism-dei-privilege-biden-slush-fund-samantha-power-doge\/)**\n\n### Did USAID Fund COVID’s Ancestor?\nMany of the viruses stored at the lab in Wuhan may have been sampled with U.S. funding yet remain out of reach for U.S. government entities investigating the origins of COVID.\n\nThe samples were set to be preserved for testing – with human samples preserved for 10 years – the documents show. But the documents suggest that requirement was never incorporated into a formal contract with USAID.\n\nThe two scientists supervising the samples were: Ben Hu, a virologist at the WIV, who [reportedly](https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/u-s-funded-scientist-among-three-chinese-researchers-who-fell-ill-amid-early-covid-19-outbreak-3f919567) became sick with COVID-like symptoms in 2019; and Peter Daszak, a scientist who was [debarred](https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/HHS-SUSP4D-Notice-of-Dr.-Peter-Daszak_05.21.2024_Redacted.pdf) from federal funding after the U.S. government deemed him a threat to public safety for inadequate oversight of the research in Wuhan.\n\nHu and Daszak did not reply to requests for comment.\n\nThe documents show PREDICT contractors discussing viral samples taken from wildlife and stored in India, Liberia, Malaysia, the Republic of Congo and China. Some of the samples were stored in virus-transport media (VTM), which allows researchers to store live viruses for later use in the lab.\n\n“It’s not rocket science to require a contract and supporting paperwork which establishes a relationship, testing protocol, and chain of custody, when one is sending out lab samples,” said Reuben Guttman, a partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC who specializes in ensuring the integrity of government programs, in an interview with the DCNF. “In any scientific endeavor, you need confidence in your results. That requires paperwork to prove your methodology is sound.”\n\nAll content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org](https:\/\/api.dailycaller.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org).\n\nShow comments\n\nAdvertisement\n\nAdvertisement\n\nDon’t miss our daily roundup.\n\nStay informed with a handpicked selection of the day's top AOL stories, delivered to your inbox.\n\nThanks for signing up.\n\nThank you for signing up. 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Meta Title	EXCLUSIVE: USAID Quietly Sent Thousands Of Viruses To Chinese Military-Linked Biolab
Meta Description	The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents.
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Boilerpipe Text	The entrance to the now shuttered USAID office can be seen as black plastic covers a USAID sign at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on April 1, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) ©ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents. The documents show that USAID funded the exportation of 11,000 samples from Yunnan Province, where some of the closest relatives of the COVID-19 virus circulate, to Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, with no apparent plan for ensuring the samples were not misdirected to bioweapons and remained accessible to the U.S. government. A $210 million USAID public health program called PREDICT, steered by the University of California-Davis, collected viral samples in countries throughout the globe but lacked long-term storage when funding dried up, according to rudimentary plans in 2019. USAID’s sample dispensation plan for China is sparse: “No need [sic] information from Yunnan. They were never an official lab partner for PREDICT. All samples they helped collected [sic] are sent to, tested, and stored in Wuhan.” The “lab” refers to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). WIV was a close partner of USAID contractor EcoHealth Alliance and a slated partner for a PREDICT-like program supported by the State Department . The lab has poor biosafety practices and ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). (RELATED: US Group Connected To Wuhan Lab Is Stonewalling Congressional Investigation Of Pandemic Origins, Committee Ranking Member Says) One of the closest known relatives of the COVID virus is among the viruses sampled with USAID funding. “Investigations involving USAID’s former funding of global health awards remain active and ongoing,” a senior State Department official said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The American people can rest assured knowing that under the Trump Administration we will not be funding these controversial programs.” The internal documents were obtained through a FOIA lawsuit brought by U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit newsroom and public health research group. The national flag of China is displayed in a street on October 1, 2023 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Photo by Getty Images) The shuttering of USAID – which was officially completed Tuesday – has ignited a debate about its net impact on global health. A study in The Lancet 01186-9/fulltext) projected an association between a dropoff in USAID funding and 14 million deaths based on an epidemiological model. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: State Department Ends Decades-Long Program Paying Under-Performing Diplomats) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday that USAID spending has often undermined rather than strengthened American interests. (RELATED: USAID Wasted Billions Of Tax Dollars On Programs That Actively Harmed Americans. Here Are The Receipts) “Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio said . “Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.” The now-defunct agency’s connection to the Wuhan lab complicates its global health legacy. “The USAID $210 million contract for PREDICT should have included contractual terms that required all samples, or at least copies of all samples, be transferred to and stored by a US government facility,” said Rutgers University molecular biologist Richard Ebright told the DCNF. “The PREDICT grift did none of this.” UC Davis did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. (RELATED: Out Of Control Spending, Marxism And ‘DEI Privilege Walks’: How USAID Became Progressive Slush Fund Under Biden) Did USAID Fund COVID’s Ancestor? Many of the viruses stored at the lab in Wuhan may have been sampled with U.S. funding yet remain out of reach for U.S. government entities investigating the origins of COVID. The samples were set to be preserved for testing – with human samples preserved for 10 years – the documents show. But the documents suggest that requirement was never incorporated into a formal contract with USAID. The two scientists supervising the samples were: Ben Hu, a virologist at the WIV, who reportedly became sick with COVID-like symptoms in 2019; and Peter Daszak, a scientist who was debarred from federal funding after the U.S. government deemed him a threat to public safety for inadequate oversight of the research in Wuhan. Hu and Daszak did not reply to requests for comment. The documents show PREDICT contractors discussing viral samples taken from wildlife and stored in India, Liberia, Malaysia, the Republic of Congo and China. Some of the samples were stored in virus-transport media (VTM), which allows researchers to store live viruses for later use in the lab. “It’s not rocket science to require a contract and supporting paperwork which establishes a relationship, testing protocol, and chain of custody, when one is sending out lab samples,” said Reuben Guttman, a partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC who specializes in ensuring the integrity of government programs, in an interview with the DCNF. “In any scientific endeavor, you need confidence in your results. That requires paperwork to prove your methodology is sound.” All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .
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[Lighter Side](https://www.aol.com/lifestyle/ "Lighter Side") - [Politics](https://www.aol.com/news/politics/ "Politics") - [Science & Tech](https://www.aol.com/news/science-tech/ "Science & Tech") - [Sports](https://www.aol.com/news/sports/ "Sports") - [Weather](https://www.aol.com/weather/ "Weather") # EXCLUSIVE: USAID Quietly Sent Thousands Of Viruses To Chinese Military-Linked Biolab [![The Daily Caller](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/iLPtgCGvttJO4BISFr4LFg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTE5ODtoPTgw/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2025-03/6e5fd010-0997-11f0-ae76-ed8beeb4b9e3)](https://dailycaller.com/) Emily Kopp July 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM - Copied ![The entrance to the now shuttered USAID office can be seen as black plastic covers a USAID sign at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on April 1, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) ©ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/3xLLJZwLbEbdzjPn1VNjGg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD01MzQ-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_daily_caller_375/b78b12b0a54ad4d6cb3d29c9e283ffae) The entrance to the now shuttered USAID office can be seen as black plastic covers a USAID sign at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC on April 1, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) ©ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shipped thousands of viral samples to a lab in Wuhan over the course of a 10-year program even though it had no formal agreement with the lab in place, according to previously unreported documents. The [documents](https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/GRANT_CP006_000095051_Redacted.pdf) [show](https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P2-CHINA-Sample-Disposition_2-October-2019_FINAL-3.pdf) that USAID funded the exportation of 11,000 samples from Yunnan Province, where some of the closest relatives of the COVID-19 virus circulate, to Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, with no apparent plan for ensuring the samples were not misdirected to bioweapons and remained accessible to the U.S. government. A [\$210 million](https://usrtk.org/risky-research/state-usaid-endorsed-virus-project-with-china-despite-national-security-risks/) USAID public health program called PREDICT, steered by the University of California-Davis, collected viral samples in countries throughout the globe but lacked long-term storage when funding dried up, according to rudimentary plans in 2019. USAID’s sample dispensation plan for China is sparse: “No need \[sic\] information from Yunnan. They were never an official lab partner for PREDICT. All samples they helped collected \[sic\] are sent to, tested, and stored in Wuhan.” The “lab” refers to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). WIV was a close partner of USAID contractor EcoHealth Alliance and a slated partner for a PREDICT-like program supported by the [State Department](https://usrtk.org/risky-research/state-usaid-endorsed-virus-project-with-china-despite-national-security-risks/). The lab has poor [biosafety practices](https://www.propublica.org/article/senate-report-covid-19-origin-wuhan-lab) and [ties](https://usrtk.org/covid-19-origins/cables-wuhan-institute-of-virology-classified-research/) to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).[(RELATED: US Group Connected To Wuhan Lab Is Stonewalling Congressional Investigation Of Pandemic Origins, Committee Ranking Member Says)](https://dailycaller.com/2021/07/01/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-francis-collins-peter-daszak-wuhan-institute-of-virology/) One of the closest known relatives of the COVID virus is [among the viruses sampled](https://usrtk.org/covid-19-origins/us-funded-discovery-of-close-covid-19-relative/) with USAID funding. “Investigations involving USAID’s former funding of global health awards remain active and ongoing,” a senior State Department official said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The American people can rest assured knowing that under the Trump Administration we will not be funding these controversial programs.” The [internal documents](https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/UCDPRA24637-combined.pdf) were obtained through a FOIA lawsuit brought by U.S. Right to Know, a nonprofit newsroom and public health research group. ![]() ![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/zaj9pSnhI6j2sx_0u.oYpw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD01MzQ-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_daily_caller_375/7187c4311a227d195f3831b20427c019) The national flag of China is displayed in a street on October 1, 2023 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Photo by Getty Images) The shuttering of USAID – which was officially completed Tuesday – has ignited a debate about its net impact on global health. A study in [The Lancet](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736\(25)01186-9/fulltext) projected an association between a dropoff in USAID funding and 14 million deaths based on an epidemiological model. [(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: State Department Ends Decades-Long Program Paying Under-Performing Diplomats)](https://www.aol.com/news/exclusive-state-department-ends-decades-203444093.html) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday that USAID spending has often undermined rather than strengthened American interests. [(RELATED: USAID Wasted Billions Of Tax Dollars On Programs That Actively Harmed Americans. Here Are The Receipts)](https://dailycaller.com/2025/02/03/donald-trump-foreign-aid-freeze-usaid-state-department-bondoggles/) “Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” [Rubio said](https://x.com/statedept/status/1940037342732894345?s=46). “Development objectives have rarely been met, instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown.” The now-defunct agency’s connection to the Wuhan lab complicates its global health legacy. “The USAID \$210 million contract for PREDICT should have included contractual terms that required all samples, or at least copies of all samples, be transferred to and stored by a US government facility,” said Rutgers University molecular biologist Richard Ebright told the DCNF. “The PREDICT grift did none of this.” UC Davis did not respond to a request for comment. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. [(RELATED: Out Of Control Spending, Marxism And ‘DEI Privilege Walks’: How USAID Became Progressive Slush Fund Under Biden)](https://dailycaller.com/2025/02/19/usaid-spending-marxism-dei-privilege-biden-slush-fund-samantha-power-doge/) ### Did USAID Fund COVID’s Ancestor? Many of the viruses stored at the lab in Wuhan may have been sampled with U.S. funding yet remain out of reach for U.S. government entities investigating the origins of COVID. The samples were set to be preserved for testing – with human samples preserved for 10 years – the documents show. But the documents suggest that requirement was never incorporated into a formal contract with USAID. The two scientists supervising the samples were: Ben Hu, a virologist at the WIV, who [reportedly](https://www.wsj.com/world/u-s-funded-scientist-among-three-chinese-researchers-who-fell-ill-amid-early-covid-19-outbreak-3f919567) became sick with COVID-like symptoms in 2019; and Peter Daszak, a scientist who was [debarred](https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HHS-SUSP4D-Notice-of-Dr.-Peter-Daszak_05.21.2024_Redacted.pdf) from federal funding after the U.S. government deemed him a threat to public safety for inadequate oversight of the research in Wuhan. Hu and Daszak did not reply to requests for comment. The documents show PREDICT contractors discussing viral samples taken from wildlife and stored in India, Liberia, Malaysia, the Republic of Congo and China. Some of the samples were stored in virus-transport media (VTM), which allows researchers to store live viruses for later use in the lab. “It’s not rocket science to require a contract and supporting paperwork which establishes a relationship, testing protocol, and chain of custody, when one is sending out lab samples,” said Reuben Guttman, a partner at Guttman, Buschner & Brooks PLLC who specializes in ensuring the integrity of government programs, in an interview with the DCNF. “In any scientific endeavor, you need confidence in your results. That requires paperwork to prove your methodology is sound.” All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org](https://api.dailycaller.com/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org). Show comments Advertisement Advertisement Don’t miss our daily roundup. Stay informed with a handpicked selection of the day's top AOL stories, delivered to your inbox. Thanks for signing up. Thank you for signing up. You will receive a confirmation email shortly. 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