There is a little bit of a scandal brewing out of California.
Reports are now breaking that a local city was left completely in the dark by state and local officials about an illegal Chinese-run lab.
Once the lab was discovered, Governor Gavin Newsom allegedly authorized a large cash payment to keep things quiet.
What’s Going on Here?
The buzz on this got started when emails from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) were leaked.
The email exchange was initially between Fresno County Public Information Officer Sonja Dosti and Ali Bay, the Deputy Director for the Office of Communications at the CDPH.
Dosti asked Bay to hold any statement for a possible review and amend it if needed.
Bay sent the statement on March 28, that stated, “CDPH is working with local, state and federal partners, as well as law enforcement authorities, to assess the situation at the warehouse and the Department’s Food and Drug Branch has launched an investigation into the manufacturing practices of the unlicensed company that was doing business from that location. This is an ongoing investigation that will take time to resolve and we are therefore unable to share additional details.”
It took about a month for Bay to get back to the state, not wanting to change the statement.
Then, FCDPH Assistant Director Joe Prado emailed Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba, wanting her input.
Zieba responded, “Fascinating that I now see this was created way back in March….thankfully no local media has come to the City’s door about it, or our message would have looked a bit different.”
Clearly, the Reedley City officials had no idea any of this was taking place at the time.
When the county sent the statement back to the CDHP with revisions from Ridley City officials, Bay edited the comments, omitting certain information that the city wanted to be included.
The reason: “…we believe it could unnecessarily cause concern and questions.”
The Chinese bioengineering lab operating secretly in California was kept from the public for nine months after its discovery.
We need answers as to why the Newsom Administration offered $360,000 in funding to the company and told local officials to stay quiet after they… pic.twitter.com/6wFQSW8JeN
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) August 16, 2023
After the entire story was posted, the CDHP responded, “CDPH never asked Fresno County to withhold a press release on this issue, a fact that has already been corroborated by the county’s public information officer, and the claims being made by a county supervisor that the state asked for a news release be withheld are patently false.
“In fact, as is often the case in investigations involving multiple agencies, CDPH worked closely with the county to draft a holding statement should questions arise, and helped ensure that information was accurate and didn’t interfere with the state investigation, which is still underway.
“The state has worked side by side with local and federal authorities to protect public safety and public health throughout the course of this ongoing investigation and helped swiftly shut down the unlicensed warehouse.”
Well, that is not exactly what the email chain shows, so I would say Newsom and his health department official have a lot of explaining to do.
Source: The Sun
