The US Department of Energy has admitted that the coronavirus pandemic could be caused by a leak from a Chinese laboratory. On this subject writing The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing sources familiar with the contents of a classified intelligence report given to the White House and key members of Congress.
The publication recalls that in June 2021, the US government’s national laboratory proposed to consider as a “plausible” version the spread of COVID-19 following a leak from the laboratory. However, how informed The New York Times newspaper, two months later, US intelligence questioned the accuracy of this assumption, calling it the most truthful theory of the virus occurring naturally as a result of human contact with a infected animal.
Before the publication of the WSJ material, it was known that the FBI also adhered to a similar view of the Department of Energy – about the “moderate confidence” of the American domestic intelligence services in the version of the leaked laboratory. , especially, reported CNN sources in 2021. Meanwhile, sources familiar with the report noted that the department passed judgment on the veracity of the “laboratory” version marked “low certainty.”
The WSJ says the US intelligence community is divided over the origin of the virus, with four agencies supporting the natural theory, while two are undecided. Despite the differences of opinion, there is a consensus among the departments that the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is not related to China’s biological weapons program, the newspaper’s interlocutors point out.
The Department of Energy’s findings in the WSJ article are described as significant. The agency notably manages a network of American national laboratories, some of which are engaged in biological research.
In a US intelligence report published in the fall of 2021 on the origin of the coronavirus, affirmed that the version of the development of SARS-CoV-2 as a biological weapon under the direction of the Chinese authorities has not been confirmed. At the same time, the report highlighted the PRC’s lack of sufficient data and Beijing’s reluctance to cooperate on many issues. In February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announcement on the suspension of the investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, explaining its decision by the difficulties linked to the conduct of research in China and the refusal of the Chinese authorities to cooperate with experts. In 2021 WHO appointed leaked version of the lab virus “highly unlikely” cause of its appearance.
What arguments are given by proponents of laboratory and natural versions of the origin of the coronavirus – read the material RTVI.
