Department of Education investigates ties between University of Texas and China

The Department of Education has launched an investigation into links between the University of Texas and a Chinese laboratory that has been scrutinized over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Education Department’s Office of General Counsel sent a letter to Chancellor James Milliken last week asking about the university’s ties to the lab and other Chinese entities such as telecom giant Huawei.

The agency requested information on any interactions between the Galveston National Laboratory, which falls under the University of Texas (UT) Medical Branch, and the maximum biocontainment lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The Chinese laboratory has come under scrutiny by the U.S. intelligence community in recent weeks, including a probe into whether the deadly virus that causes COVID-19 originated in that lab. Intelligence officials said Wednesday that they agreed with the “widespread scientific consensus” that the virus was “not manmade or genetically modified.”

A day later, President Trump appeared to contradict that finding, saying he had seen evidence the lab was involved in the spread of the virus. Trump did not provide any details.

In its letter to UT, the Education Department also asked about the school’s connections with Huawei, the 5G equipment-maker that has been effectively blacklisted by the Department of Commerce and is classified by the Federal Communications Commission as a national security threat due to espionage concerns.