Latest Covid Origin Report Hints At Circumstantial Evidence To Support Wuhan Lab Leak Theory
The report also acknowledges that it did not uncover definitive evidence to confirm that the virus originated from a laboratory accident rather than naturally in the wild. This aligns with the earlier statements from top U.S. intelligence officials, highlighting conflicting views regarding the true origins of the pandemic.
A Republican-led investigation into the origins of COVID-19 has found additional evidence, although circumstantial, that supports the theory of a lab escape from Wuhan, China.
However, the investigation report released on Wednesday does not provide any conclusive "smoking gun" evidence to prove the theory.
Sen. Marco Rubio, who initiated the probe nearly two years ago, claims that the new information discovered by congressional investigators adds credibility to the "lab leak theory."
The report also acknowledges that it did not uncover definitive evidence to confirm that the virus originated from a laboratory accident rather than naturally in the wild.
This aligns with the earlier statements from top U.S. intelligence officials, highlighting conflicting views regarding the true origins of the pandemic.
"What we present below is a substantial body of circumstantial evidence that supports the plausibility of such a scenario," the executive summary of Rubio¡¯s report states about the lab leak theory, making clear the findings do not offer a definitive answer to the question of the origin.
Rubio's new report explicitly highlights evidence indicating that Chinese government officials and relevant figures in the scientific community knew about an infectious disease outbreak before it was publicly disclosed on December 31, 2019.
The report also reveals information suggesting a potential biocontainment failure or accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a state-run facility, during the second half of 2019.
This incident aligns with the timeframe when epidemiological evidence indicates that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, was introduced to the human population in Wuhan.
"In addition, indirect evidence suggests that the most senior leadership of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) likely had at least limited knowledge of this laboratory incident by no later than the middle of November 2019," the report adds.
Rubio argues that considering these findings together strongly supports the lab leak theory.
Agencies
In response to the report, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs labeled it a fabrication by anti-China senators who lacked scientific credibility.
They referred to a 2021 World Health Organization report that deemed the lab leak theory "extremely unlikely," although this investigation received criticism for being incomplete and lacking transparency.
The ministry suggested that instead of politicising the issue, the senator should have collaborated with the World Health Organization to research the source and share the results openly and transparently.
While some U.S. intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and Department of Energy, have expressed moderate or low confidence that the virus likely leaked from a lab, the majority of the intelligence community believes that COVID either emerged naturally in the wild or that there is insufficient evidence to determine its origin conclusively.
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A declassified report from 2021 that showed various agencies assessing the virus's origins with varying degrees of confidence¡ªwhether from animals or a laboratory accident¡ªdemonstrated the intelligence community's division on this issue over several years.
(Source: Rubio Releases Groundbreaking COVID Origins Report)
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