3rd Party Report Finds UNC Withheld Public Records Requested by Medical Watchdog Group Investigating COVID-19 Origins
The special master's report indicates that 250 of the contested documents qualify as public records, even under UNC-CH's interpretation of the law
Correction: an earlier version of this article stated the report had been returned yesterday; it was, in fact, returned on Tuesday
The special master has returned his report after reviewing the documents at issue in a public records lawsuit brought by U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) against the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH).
USRTK, a “nonprofit investigative public health research and journalism group,” filed the lawsuit over 50,000+ pages of documents that the university refused to provide in response to a series of requests made under NC public records law in relation to USRTK's investigation into the origins of COVID-19, including records related to famed coronavirus Ralph Baric and his associations with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
USRTK and UNC-CH disagree on the definition of "proprietary" in NC GS § 116‑43.17, which exempts certain "research data, records, and information of a proprietary nature" from the state's public records laws.
UNC-CH argues that "proprietary" should be interpreted broadly as anything which is protected under federal copyright law, while USRTK argues for a much more limited interpretation, with "proprietary" being analogous to "trade secret".
There has yet to be a ruling in regards to the definition, but USRTK scored a victory last November when the judge assigned a third party "special master" to review the denied documents, over UNC-CH's objection that their internal review of the records was sufficient to determine they did not qualify as public records:
The report returned on Tuesday by the special master confirms, at least partially, USRTK's contention that UNC-CH cannot be trusted to police themselves: the report assesses that 250 of the 4537 documents qualify fully as public records even under UNC-CH's interpretation of the law.
Of the remaining documents, 2704 would be fully or partially released if USRTK's interpretation is adopted and the remaining 1583 would not qualify as public records under either interpretation, according to the special master's report.
The report further breaks down the characterization of the documents according to the following categories: "Research Grant Administration", "Manuscripts & Presentation", Material Transfer Agreements ("MTAs"), and "Research Project Collaboration":
In a statement regarding the decision, USRTK executive director Gary Ruskin confirmed the organization's commitment to the pursuit of transparency: "We continue on in our efforts to compel the public release of documents related to Covid origins, and to report on them, hoping that this may help to prevent the next pandemic."
Related coverage:
Public Records Lawsuit Against UNC by Medical Watchdog Group Investigating COVID-19 Origins Advances (Original Article — Nov. 6, 2023)
UNC claims "research project collaborations" are exempt from public records statute in COVID-19 origins investigation lawsuit (No. 57 — Feb. 3, 2024)
U.S. Right to Know public records lawsuit reveals efforts to evade transparency (No. 58 — Feb. 10, 2024)
Coronavirus Pandemic Subcommittee alleges FBI interest in UNC/COVID origins public records requests (No. 59 — Feb. 17, 2024)
UNC COVID-19 Origins Public Records Lawsuit: what does "proprietary mean"? (No. 61 — Mar. 2, 2024)
"Stop Gain of Function" rally at UNC-Chapel Hill (No. 62 — Mar. 9, 2024)
UNC-linked coronavirus researcher accused of "discrepancies in testimony" (No. 66 — Apr. 6, 2024)
UNC coronavirologist Ralph Baric: "can't rule out" lab leak origin of COVID-19 (No. 70 — May 4, 2024)