April 5th, 2021 by WCBC Radio

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is defending senior COVID-19 advisor and former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, who recently stated he believes the source of the ongoing pandemic most likely was the leak of the coronavirus from a Chinese lab in 2019, rather than the result of a bat transmitting the virus to a human, which he said seemed unlikely, despite pronouncements to the contrary from the World Health Organization.

Democratic leaders in the state, including Senate President Bill Ferguson and Comptroller Peter Franchot, have called Redfield's statement "anti-Asian," and have demanded his resignation. Franchot sent an open letter to the governor in which he equated Redfield's scientifically-informed opinion with dishonesty and bigotry.

"… it's reckless and irresponsible to publicly promote misinformation — especially when this kind of divisive rhetoric has already led to such devastating consequences against our Asian communities," wrote Franchot.

During his press conference late last week, Hogan defended Redfield and cited the former CDC director's expertise in the field of infectious diseases…