The new Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, has made a significant change to the agency’s assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin in one of his first official acts. The CIA now believes, with low confidence, that a lab accident is a more likely explanation for the pandemic’s origin, based on available reports, according to a statement provided to US media.
Previously, the CIA had maintained that there was not enough information to determine whether the virus was transmitted from an animal to a human, or whether it originated from a lab accident in a Chinese facility. Ratcliffe, in the past, had advocated for the lab theory and accused Beijing of covering up the origin of the virus.
However, in the weeks leading up to the Biden administration’s departure, the former CIA Director, William Burns, instructed CIA analysts and scientists to make a definitive decision, with a focus on the historical significance of the pandemic, according to a high-ranking US official.
Former US President Donald Trump and his son, Don Jr., have repeatedly expressed the belief that the virus originated from a lab accident in Wuhan, China. China has consistently denied any involvement in a potential lab incident.
In an interview with Breitbart after his Senate confirmation on Friday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated that one of his top priorities is to have his agency release a public assessment on the pandemic’s origin.
“That’s a day one thing for me”he said. “As you know, I’ve testified that I believe our intelligence information, our science and our common sense dictate that the origin of COVID was a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.