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In a recent development, the CIA has expressed the belief that the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a lab accident in China. This new assessment comes as a significant shift from the agency’s previous stance, where it had claimed there wasn’t enough data to firmly establish the virus’s origins.
The CIA stated, “With low confidence, we assess that a lab-based origin for the COVID-19 pandemic is more credible than a natural one given the current reports.” However, they still consider both possibilities as valid. For the past four years, the U.S. intelligence community, which consists of 18 separate agencies, has been delving into this mystery to ascertain if the virus naturally emerged from a Wuhan wet market or leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Joining the FBI and the Department of Energy, the CIA now leans towards the conclusion that the virus did, in fact, escape from the Wuhan lab. Although they maintain “low confidence” in this judgment, they remain open to reevaluating this stance should any credible new intelligence or public information surfaces.
Interestingly, this updated assessment came out shortly after John Ratcliffe took over as CIA director. In a conversation with Breitbart News post-confirmation, Ratcliffe expressed his belief that the origins of COVID-19 likely involve a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He pledged that the CIA would not remain passive and would inform the public accordingly.
Inside sources revealed that Bill Burns, who led the CIA under President Biden, instructed the assessment team to form a determinate standpoint on the virus’s origins but did not influence their conclusion. This directive coincided with national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s call for a fresh review of the pandemic’s origins as Biden’s tenure drew to a close.
The CIA had already updated its assessment before Ratcliffe assumed his role, according to a U.S. official. Senator Tom Cotton, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a Republican, has consistently advocated the lab leak theory, accusing both China and the media of obfuscating the truth. He praised the agency’s conclusion and Ratcliffe’s efforts in transparency, emphasizing, “The priority now is holding China accountable for the pandemic.”
In response, the Chinese embassy in Washington voiced strong opposition to what it termed the “politicization and stigmatization” of the virus’s origins. The embassy labeled the U.S. report as baseless, accusing it of misleading conclusions and political manipulation, thus lacking in credibility.
This shift in the CIA’s stance coincides with a recent phone call between former President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first of its kind since at least 2021. While expectations were high for Trump to adopt a firm stance on China, especially regarding trade, his initial days in office have seen a more measured approach.
During a Fox News interview this week, Trump noted his “tremendous power” through tariffs but expressed a preference to avoid using them. In this vein, he issued an executive order delaying TikTok’s sale deadline in the U.S.
When questioned about the CIA’s assessment aboard Air Force One, Trump refrained from commenting on specifics, instead deferring to Ratcliffe: “You have a good man there, a very good man in John… Ratcliffe. I’d rather have you ask him that question than me.”
