Covid-19 outbreak likely caused by lab leak in China, US intelligence report says in classified findings sent to White House
- The US Department of Energy agreed that the origin of the virus came from a laboratory
- The FBI said its findings were made with “moderate confidence.”
The covid pandemic was most likely caused by a leak in a Chinese laboratory, according to a US intelligence report.
Classified findings sent to the White House and members of Congress reveal that the US Department of Energy agrees with the FBI that the origin of the virus came from a laboratory, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Chinese city of Wuhan was at the epicenter of the outbreak and there are theories that the virus leaked there, although other experts believe it was a natural event.
The energy department’s study is significant, though it said it had made its judgment with “low confidence,” adding that it did not believe Covid-19 was part of a Chinese biological weapons program. The FBI said its findings were made with “moderate confidence.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan refused to confirm the study yesterday, saying only that President Joe Biden had asked for as much intelligence as possible about the origins of the pandemic.
The classified findings sent to the White House and members of Congress reveal that the US Department of Energy agrees with the FBI that the origin of the virus came from a laboratory.
The Chinese city of Wuhan was at the epicenter of the outbreak and there are theories that the virus leaked there, although other experts believe it was a natural event.
Sullivan said: “President Biden specifically requested that the national laboratories, which are part of the energy department, be included in this assessment because he wants to use all the tools to be able to find out what happened here.” There is a “variety of views in the intelligence community,” he added.
Sen. Dan Sullivan said Congress needed to hold broad hearings to decide the origin of the virus.
Referring to China, he said: “This is a country that has no problem going out and lying to the world.”
David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University, welcomed the latest findings.
He said: ‘Kudos to those who are willing to set aside their preconceptions and objectively re-examine what we do and don’t know about the origins of Covid. My plea is that we do not accept an incomplete answer or give up for political expediency.’
The energy department’s findings are a quick departure from previous studies and theories about how Covid-19 came to be. The Journal reports that four other agencies and the National Intelligence Council believe the virus was caused by natural transmission. Two other government agencies, one of which is identified as the CIA, remain undecided.