The Central Intelligence Agency stated on Saturday that it had changed its earlier conclusions and that it was likely the Covid-19 virus was leaked from a Chinese laboratory before to the outbreak of a worldwide pandemic. However, the agency expressed a lack of confidence in its assessment.
“Based on the available body of reporting, CIA evaluates with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin,” a CIA spokesperson stated in a statement. CIA continues to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic’s natural genesis and research-related possibilities are still likely.
“The agency has low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any new intelligence reporting or relevant information,” the statement continued.
The CIA has maintained for years that it is uncertain whether the Covid pandemic was caused by an incident at a Chinese research lab or by human contact with an infected animal.
The origins of the virus have caused division among U.S. government departments, including intelligence agencies. While other agencies determined that the most likely explanation was natural human exposure to an infected animal, the FBI and the Energy Department have stated that it is likely that the virus was the consequence of a lab leak. Up until today, the CIA has been agnostic.
A source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News that the CIA’s assessment was based on analysts examining pre-existing data rather than on fresh intelligence. According to the source, the assessment was ordered during the final weeks of the Biden administration and finished prior to the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
According to the source, outgoing CIA Director William Burns advised analysts to adopt a stance on the various theories regarding the origins of COVID-19 rather than staying impartial. However, Burns did not indicate which theory he preferred to embrace.
The details of the recent review were first reported by the New York Times.
According to the source, the declassification of the new assessment was allowed by John Ratcliffe, the new director of the spy agency, who was confirmed to his position by the Senate this week after being nominated by President Donald Trump. Ratcliffe has long maintained that a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology is most likely where the virus originated.
In an interview published on Friday, Ratcliffe told Breitbart News that he wanted the CIA to change its neutral position on the virus’s origins and stop playing a supporting role.
Addressing China’s threat on multiple fronts is one of the topics I’ve discussed a lot, and it relates to the reasons why a million Americans lost their lives and why the CIA has been ignoring the issue for five years by failing to conduct an analysis regarding the origins of COVID, Ratcliffe said. For me, that’s a day one thing.
He stated, “As you are aware, I have stated on record that I believe our common sense, science, and intelligence all really dictate that the origin of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.” However, the CIA hasn’t reached that determination—at least not in public. I will therefore concentrate on that, examine the intelligence, and ensure that the public is aware that the agency will come out of the shadows.
When dealing with China, Ratcliffe, who was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, promised to make sure the president has the greatest intelligence at his disposal.
According to Ratcliffe, President Trump must have the greatest intelligence available to him when he interacts with Chinese President Xi [Jinping] and be able to speak about China in a way that would demonstrate that they were responsible for the deaths of a million Americans.
Concerns have been raised about the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s prior studies on bat coronaviruses and purported security flaws. Wuhan was the site of the first Covid-19 virus detection in 2019.
China has maintained that it has been open and honest about the outbreak and has accused the US of attempting to discredit Beijing with what it claims are untrue claims on the virus’s origins.