CIA says ‘more likely’ COVID-19 escaped from a lab

The CIA has stated that it believes a laboratory leak was the source of the COVID-19 pandemic rather than a natural disaster.

Following John Ratcliffe’s inauguration as director of the top intelligence agency under Donald Trump’s leadership on Thursday, the CIA’s “low confidence” assessment is made.

The “CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible”, a spokesperson said on Saturday.

We continue to evaluate any credible new intelligence reports or open-source sources that might alter the CIA’s assessment and have low confidence in this judgment.

Before Ratcliffe took up his position, the assessment was ordered under former US President Joe Biden’s control, according to US media reports.

The assessment was also based on existing intelligence, not new information, according to the reports.

Following the CIA’s announcement, three US agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Energy, have now publicly backed the theory that COVID-19 most likely escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.

China’s embassy in Washington, DC, rejected the CIA assessment, which it said “concocts misleading conclusions, throws dirty water on China, and engages in framing”.

It still uses an outdated pattern of political source-finding and has no relevance. According to embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu, scientists and experts should find the solution to the virus’s source through thorough and thorough scientific research rather than being let down by politicians.

We firmly oppose the politicization and stigmatization of the virus’s origin, and we once more urge everyone to respect science and steer clear of conspiracies.

Liu added that China “has always adhered to the spirit of science, openness and transparency” and pointed to a 2021 World Health Organization-China joint study that concluded a lab leak was “extremely unlikely”.

The virus most likely developed from natural transmission, according to four additional US intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council.

In an interview with Breitbart News on Friday, Ratcliffe had said that COVID’s origins would be a “day-one” priority.

According to what I’ve been told, I believe that the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s leak, along with our intelligence, science, and common sense, all contributed to COVID’s development. But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly”, Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, told the outlet.