Republicans are furious now that their contention has been validated, after being suppressed as conspiracy theorists by Democrats and most of the scientific community, backed by the media.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
A classified report recently sent to the Biden administration and Congressional leaders says that the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.8 million people around the world could very well have been caused by a leak from a Chinese lab, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday.
The FBI had concluded in 2021 “with moderate confidence” that the virus was accidentally leaked, the paper said, and now the Department of Energy was joining that assessment with “low” confidence.
The two agencies reportedly had different reasons for reaching their conclusions, but the WSJ’s sources did not reveal the basis for the DoE’s decision. The report, they said, had been written due to new intelligence, further examination of academic research work, and discussions with outside experts. It is reportedly less than five pages long.
Four other agencies weighed in, saying that the other prevailing theory, that of the virus jumping from animals to humans, was one that they now treated with “low confidence.” The CIA was specifically named as not having come to a conclusion on which theory was correct.
There was a consensus, however, that the virus had not been engineered as a weapon by the Chinese.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been repeatedly named as the leak’s most likely source. One of its labs was known to conduct coronavirus research on live bats, and three of its researchers were eventually discovered to have been hospitalized in the fall of 2019, right before the worldwide breakout of the disease.
The document’s assertion has infuriated Republicans, many of whom had suspected the Communist country from the beginning of covering up an accident that had horrific global consequences, yet were shut down by the majority of Democrats, the scientific community and media as “conspiracy theorists.”
“The elites and academics owe everyone who had legitimate questions and concerns about the origins of COVID an apology,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-Col) tweeted. “The American people deserve to see all the information concerning the Chinese lab leak and the origins of COVID. This won’t be forgotten.”
“No more whitewash,” agreed Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo). “I will again introduce legislation to make the US government’s intelligence reports on covid open to the people.”
Arkansan Senator Tom Cotton was one of the first to question Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who contradicted then-president Donald Trump when he backed the lab leak theory. Although he was pilloried in the press and social media for opposing the government’s preeminent disease expert, Cotton took the high road on Sunday.
“Re. China’s lab leak, being proven right doesn’t matter,” he tweeted. “What matters is holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable so this doesn’t happen again.”
Others were rankled by the censorship issue as well.
“Big Tech censored information indicating COVID resulted from a lab leak,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted. “Now, Biden’s own Energy Department is saying that’s the most likely cause. We need accountability – for both the Chinese Communist Party and Big Tech.”
Big Tech censored information indicating COVID resulted from a lab leak. Now, Biden’s own Energy Department is saying that’s the most likely cause.
We need accountability – for both the Chinese Communist Party and Big Tech.
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) February 26, 2023
Speaking on CNN Sunday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan hedged when asked about the report, saying, “There are a variety of views in the intelligence community. Some elements in the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other. A number of them have said they just don’t have enough information to be sure.”
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