© Sean Gallup/Getty ImagesRichard Grenell
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed on-record for the first time Thursday that the U.S. intelligence community is investigating whether the coronavirus outbreak, which has wreaked havoc across the globe, started as the result of an
accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
"The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China.
The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified," a statement from the office of acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell said.
"As we do in all crises, the Community's experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan," the statement said.
Fox News first reported earlier this month that there is increasing confidence that the outbreak likely escaped from the lab,
not as a bioweapon but as part of a Chinese effort to show that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal or greater than those of the U.S. This would be at odds with claims the outbreak originated at a wet market nearby.
Fox News also reported previously that a full-scale investigation was underway, with intelligence operatives said to be gathering information about the laboratory and the initial outbreak of the virus. Intelligence analysts are piecing together a timeline of what the government knew and "creating an accurate picture of what happened," sources said.
Comment: As the US attempts to redefine reality and an impotent Europe resorts to hand-wringing, cui bono?