{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/12/blackburn-van-hollen-moolenaar-and-krishnamoorthi-grill-wada-on-reports-of-agency-intimidating-and-suppressing-whistleblowers", "Blackburn, Van Hollen, Moolenaar, and Krishnamoorthi Grill WADA on Reports of Agency Intimidating and Suppressing Whistleblowers", "2025-12-08", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "\u2018Whistleblowers are not the enemy, but instead are the reason doping scandals come to light in the first place\u2019\n\n\u2018When global institutions like WADA allegedly target those who come forward, they\u2026 shatter public trust and harm every athlete who competes honestly\u2019\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and U.S. Representatives John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) sent a letter to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) demanding answers over allegations that its officials have launched an internal operation called \u201cOperation Puncture\u201d to intimidate and suppress whistleblowers who have sounded the alarm about corruption and misconduct within the agency.\n\nEarlier this year, Senator Blackburn led a hearing following WADA\u2019s refusal to investigate Chinese swimmers testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs before the Tokyo Olympics.\n\nReports Say WADA Is Intimidating and Suppressing Whistleblowers\n\n\u201cWe write to express our concern over allegations that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been searching for whistleblowers who helped reveal the swimming doping scandal in 2021 involving People\u2019s Republic of China athletes. According to the reporting, WADA officials have launched an internal operation, \u2018Operation Puncture\u2019 to investigate the leak of the 2021 doping allegations. While WADA claims that their motivations are innocent, it appears this investigation\u2019s intent is to intimidate and suppress whistleblowers. If these allegations are accurate, WADA is not defending clean sport but is continuing to defend a cover-up.\u201d\n\nBlackburn Led Colleagues in Demanding Accountability from WADA for Chinese Doping Scandal\n\n\u201cThe signers of this letter have been leading the effort to demand accountability from WADA for its handling of the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the banned substance Trimetazidine before the Tokyo Olympics. We have urged full transparency and cooperation with investigators. Instead, WADA has met those calls with defensiveness, denial, and now alleged retaliation. This is unacceptable. Whistleblowers are not the enemy, but instead are the reason doping scandals come to light in the first place. If WADA is spending its time and resources chasing down those who reveal misconduct instead of addressing the misconduct itself, it has lost sight of its mission to ensure doping-free sport and is betraying the athletes it was created to protect. When global institutions like WADA allegedly target those who come forward, they not only silence whistleblowers\u2014they shatter public trust and harm every athlete who competes honestly.\u201d\n\nNew Allegations Reaffirm Need to Pass Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act\n\nClick here to read the full letter.\n\nVIDEO: Blackburn Scorches World Anti-Doping Agency for Refusing to Investigate Chinese Swimmers for Doping\n\nBlackburn, Van Hollen, Colleagues Introduce the Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act as U.S. Withholds Funding to WADA\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2025/12/blackburn-van-hollen-moolenaar-and-krishnamoorthi-grill-wada-on-reports-of-agency-intimidating-and-suppressing-whistleblowers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6807269528508186, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}