There’s an update into the foreign funding investigation at the University of Michigan.
In June, the U.S. Department of Justice brought criminal charges against multiple Chinese nationals who are accused of smuggling dangerous biological materials into the United States for use at U of M labs. In July, the Department of Education requested records from the school.
Paul Moore, chief investigative counsel, was asked to give an update into why they want to see documents related to foreign funding.
“Our universities have become international conglomerates,” Moore said. “They are, it’s big industry, it’s time that we started treating them like they are until they actually can show that they have an affinity for the country that gave them a place to grow. There’s a $600 billion industry in this country and they don’t like anyone asking their business where they’re getting their money, where they have direct revenue streams with China or others and so they’re very hostile to that.”
They have noted that non-compliance with the investigation risks Department of Justice enforcement, including civil actions.
