WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Heath and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG), regarding a top Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official potentially mishandling his official records. HHS recently informed the chairman that Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, the head of the office that monitors COVID-19 vaccine adverse events, may have deleted or destroyed agency records. If these allegations are accurate, Dr. Shimabukuro’s actions may have violated multiple federal laws.

“Dr. Shimabukuro’s potential mishandling of his official records is highly concerning. His actions, if true, would have directly obstructed my multi-year oversight efforts of the COVID-19 vaccines and would be in clear violation of my November 19, 2024 demand to HHS, CDC, and the Food and Drug Administration to ‘preserve all records referring or relating to the development, safety, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.’ Furthermore, given Dr. Shimabukuro’s role at CDC, which includes monitoring adverse events relating to the COVID-19 vaccines, his communications are directly responsive to my January 28, 2025, subpoena to HHS for records relating to the development and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. Any attempt to obstruct or interfere with my investigatory efforts would be grounds for contempt of Congress,” Chairman Johnson wrote.

Chairman Johnson has called on these agencies to initiate an investigation to determine:

1. The extent to which officials with HHS and its sub-agencies, including Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, deleted or destroyed official agency records; and
2. The extent to which officials with HHS and its sub-agencies, including Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, deleted or destroyed official agency records to avoid or subvert Congressional oversight or the Freedom of Information Act. 

Read more about the letter in the New York Post.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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