The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Saturday changed its official position on the origin of Covid-19, saying the virus was “highly likely” to have originated in a Chinese lab transmitted by animals.
The new review comes after John Ratcliffe was confirmed Thursday as CIA director under Donald Trump’s second White House administration.
Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence in 2020-2021 during Trump’s first term, told AN. The interview A “day one” priority will be a review on the origins of Covid, it was published on Friday.
Ratcliffe—who is believed to have leaked Covid-19 from the Wuhan Institute of Virology—told right-wing outlet Breitbart, “The agency is going to go off the edge.”
A CIA spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday, “The CIA has estimated with low confidence that the origin reporting related to the COVID-19 pandemic research is more likely than natural origin based on available agency reporting.” “
The agency has not previously made a determination about whether the virus was released in a lab accident or slipped from the animals.
“The CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios for the Covid-19 pandemic are plausible,” the spokesperson noted.
A US official said AFP The change was based on a new analysis of existing intelligence compiled by former CIA director William Burns, which was completed before Ratcliffe’s arrival this week.
Some US agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy, support the lab leak theory, albeit with varying levels of confidence, while most elements of the intelligence community lean toward a natural origin.
Proponents of the lab leak hypothesis have highlighted that the earliest known Covid-19 cases originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
