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The CIA has changed its assessment of the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, now endorsing the lab leak theory. Under new director John Ratcliffe, the agency has released an assessment into the origins of Covid-19.
The review was ordered by former President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan toward the end of Biden’s time in office.
Analysts gave a rating of “low confidence” despite former CIA director Bill Burns. He remained agnostic on origins and told the agency they needed to look at the existing evidence again and come down one way or the other.
The security guard investigated the origins of the covid-19 coronavirus under surveillance outside the Uhan Research Institute in Uhan as a member of a World Health Organization team. Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
John Ratcliffe says we face “the most challenging security environment”.
The agency has maintained for years that it did not have enough information to conclude whether Covid originated in China’s Wuhan lab or in a wet market. Despite the new assessment supporting the lab leak, there was no sign of new evidence.
“The CIA rates low confidence that a research-related origin of the Covid-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on available reports. “We continue to evaluate both scenarios. 19 pandemics are plausible,” a CIA spokesperson told Fox News.
“We have low confidence in this judgment and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reports or open source information that may change the CIA’s assessment.”
Ratcliffe, who was confirmed Thursday, has long been a proponent of the lab leak theory. In an interview with Breitbart, Ratcliffe framed the assessment of Covid’s origins as part of a broader strategy to “address the threat from China.”
He also said he wants the CIA to get “bystanders” and take a stand.
John Ratcliffe appears at a Senate intelligence confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images).
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In a March 2023 Fox News Piece, Ratcliffe, co-authored with Cliff Sims, said the Biden administration could quiet down the lab leak theory by suppressing “things that can be clearly assessed from the intelligence they possess.” accused of trying to maintain a consensus.
He also questioned the notion that the CIA does not have enough evidence to reach a conclusion about the origins of the virus.
“The CIA is the world’s premier spy agency. Its reach is unparalleled, its ability to obtain information unparalleled. But here we are, three and a half years later, with enough information that the CIA just doesn’t have enough.” There is a public report that says, “This is complete nonsense,” says the March 2023 piece.
Signs about Covid-19 testing appear outside a Covid-19 testing site as health walkers collect test tubes in Wheeling, Illinois, Dec. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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In the same article, Ratcliffe and Sims dismissed the idea that the virus appeared naturally, arguing that there was a “total absence of intelligence or scientific evidence” pointing to that conclusion.
When he testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in April 2023, Ratcliffe said the lab leak theory “is the only explanation that our intelligence, science, and common sense can credibly give.” said.
Rachel Wolf is a news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
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