The intelligence agency states that it has ‘low confidence’ in the assessment and will continue to evaluate credible information.
The CIA has made an announcement suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have originated from a laboratory leak rather than a natural event.
The CIA’s assessment of “low confidence” was revealed after John Ratcliffe took office as the director of the top intelligence agency under US President Donald Trump on Thursday.
A spokesperson mentioned on Saturday that the “CIA continues to consider both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic as plausible.”
The spokesperson further stated, “We have low confidence in this judgment and plan to review any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could alter the CIA’s assessment.”
Reports from US media suggest that the assessment was commissioned during the administration of former US President Joe Biden and was finalized before Ratcliffe assumed his position.
Following the announcement by the CIA, three US agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Energy, have now publicly supported the theory that COVID-19 likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.
The Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, dismissed the CIA assessment, accusing it of “fabricating misleading conclusions, tarnishing China’s image, and framing the country.”
The embassy spokesperson, Liu Pengyu, remarked, “The origin of the virus is a complex scientific matter, to be resolved through thorough scientific research by experts, not by politicians passing judgment.”
He added, “We strongly oppose politicizing and stigmatizing the virus’s source, urging everyone to respect science and avoid conspiracy theories.”
Liu emphasized that China has consistently favored science, transparency, and openness, citing a joint study by the World Health Organization and China in 2021 that deemed a lab leak as “highly improbable.”
Four other US intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council have maintained that the virus most likely originated through natural transmission.
In an interview with Breitbart News on Friday, Ratcliffe emphasized that investigating COVID’s origins would be a top priority from day one.
Ratcliffe, who was also the director of national intelligence during Trump’s initial term, expressed his viewpoint saying, “I believe our intelligence, scientific evidence, and common sense all point to the origins of COVID being a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. However, the CIA has not officially made this assessment, so my focus will be on reviewing the intelligence and ensuring that the public is informed about the agency’s stance.”
