A taxpayer watchdog has sued federal health officials to force the release of records about a high-risk virus lab that already sits at the center of a federal smuggling case.
Story Snapshot
- White Coat Waste filed a lawsuit to compel records on Rocky Mountain Laboratories and alleged overdue Freedom of Information Act requests.
- The records sought cover animal experiments and biosafety files involving several dangerous pathogens.
- Federal prosecutors separately charged two National Institutes of Health researchers in a monkeypox smuggling case tied to the same lab.
- National Institutes of Health logs show prior requests from the watchdog, signaling a history of records disputes.
What Was Filed And Why It Matters
White Coat Waste filed a new Freedom of Information Act lawsuit on September 15, 2026, against the Department of Health and Human Services. The case seeks overdue records about the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana. The group says seven requests have gone unanswered for more than a year. The filing targets animal testing files, safety reports, and import-related paperwork tied to dangerous pathogens. The watchdog argues taxpayers deserve to see what was done and how the lab handled risks.
The group’s requests include animal study protocols, committee minutes, and photos and videos from tests. The scope lists Ebola, Nipah, Hendra, Lassa, Sudan virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, avian flu, and variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. It also includes tick colonies used in studies. These records can show what the lab approved, what went wrong, and how leaders responded. That is the core point of the lawsuit: access to basic oversight records the law says the public can see.
The Separate Criminal Case Raising Stakes
The lawsuit lands as federal prosecutors charged two National Institutes of Health researchers at the same lab with a smuggling conspiracy. A June 2, 2026, Justice Department release said the pair faced charges for allegedly bringing monkeypox into the United States and making false statements. A criminal complaint is not a conviction, but it shows the government believes a crime occurred. That filing increases public interest in related lab records and safety practices.
White Coat Waste also points to past disclosures to argue that records exist and matter. In 2024, the group said prior litigation forced the National Institutes of Health to release photos and videos from Rocky Mountain Laboratories showing painful animal tests. The watchdog frames those releases as proof that agencies often fight disclosure until a court steps in. That history forms part of the group’s case for why this new suit is needed now.
Documented Requests And The FOIA Backlog Problem
Public National Institutes of Health logs show White Coat Waste has filed multiple records requests over the years tied to Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Entries include a request for details about an incident at the Montana site and a separate grant records request. These logs show a paper trail and help confirm that requests were filed and tracked. They do not prove bad faith. They do show the scale and frequency of asks that can stretch agency capacity.
RFK’S NIH MUST ANSWER FOR RML’S VIRUS EXPERIMENTS AND SMUGGLING SCANDAL
Secretary Kennedy’s NIH has questions to answer. WCW is going to court to get the receipts.
Our new lawsuit demands responses to seven overdue FOIA requests seeking records on NIH’s Ebola, COVID, monkeypox,… pic.twitter.com/65Rf52C9E0
— White Coat Waste (@WhiteCoatWaste) September 18, 2026
Freedom of Information Act backlogs are a known, government-wide issue. The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy says requests are “backlogged” if they pass statutory deadlines, and that heavy litigation can drain staff from processing. A recent federal court record showed United States Customs and Border Protection with more than one hundred thousand backlogged requests. These facts explain delay but do not excuse ignoring lawful requests. Courts often sort that line case by case.
Why Both Sides Of The Aisle Care
Taxpayers on the right and left want labs that are safe, honest, and accountable. Conservatives worry about risky research, animal abuse, and elites protecting their own. Liberals worry about secrecy, public health gaps, and harms to the vulnerable. Both sides know slow or missing records cut trust. When a high-security lab faces a smuggling case, and a watchdog says officials will not share basic files, people see a system that shields itself before it serves them.
What To Watch Next
The court will first address whether the agencies properly handled the seven requests. Judges can order rolling releases, set deadlines, or allow narrow withholdings. Watch for a schedule, a detailed agency index of withheld files, and any partial productions. If records start to flow, look for safety incident reports, animal care protocols, and import paperwork. Those documents will either calm fears or raise more questions about how this lab ran its work.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, whitecoatwaste.org, blog.whitecoatwaste.org, nih.gov
