The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has reviewed classified State Department records that suggest COVID-19 may have originated from a lab-related accident in Wuhan, China. The committee believes that the Chinese Communist Party attempted to cover up the lab leak and obstruct a full investigation into the matter. Committee Chairman Brad Wenstrup sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting the declassification of these records to share the truth about the origins of COVID with the American people. The documents also reveal a close relationship between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The State Department recently provided the classified documents to the select committee after initially releasing them in an unclassified and highly redacted form to a nonprofit group called U.S. Right to Know. These documents contain highly pertinent information that supports the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab-related accident in Wuhan. Wenstrup emphasized the need for transparency and requested that the American people be allowed to see the information that is currently hidden under redactions. The committee also urged Blinken to provide a staff level briefing on the records before May 14.
President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, which mandated the declassification of information related to the pandemic’s origins. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report in June 2023 stating that the intelligence community has not reached a definitive conclusion on whether the pandemic was caused by a lab leak or natural exposure from an infected animal. While some agencies believe in the possibility of both scenarios, the report clarifies that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was not developed as a biological weapon.
Former intelligence chief and other intelligence community agencies have assessed that natural contact with a wild animal was the most likely cause of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the U.S. Energy Department and the FBI have deduced that COVID-19 likely emerged from a lab leak in China. The CIA and another unnamed agency have not come to a definitive conclusion, citing challenges and conflicting reports. Despite differing opinions, the intelligence community agrees that SARS-CoV-2 was not genetically engineered as a biological weapon.
Committee Chairman Brad Wenstrup called for the immediate declassification of the information regarding the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic so that the American people have a more complete picture. The documents reviewed by the Subcommittee suggest that the Chinese Communist Party acted to prevent and obstruct a thorough investigation into the origins of the virus, indicating a potential cover-up. Wenstrup also highlighted the seamless relationship between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, raising concerns about the transparency surrounding the research conducted at the lab.
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has raised questions about the origins of COVID-19, pointing to a lab-related accident in Wuhan, China as a potential source of the virus. The State Department has shared classified documents with the committee, leading to requests for declassification to provide more transparency to the American people. While various intelligence agencies have different theories on the origin of the pandemic, there is an agreement that the virus was not genetically engineered as a biological weapon. The push for declassification aims to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the outbreak and address concerns about a potential cover-up by the Chinese Communist Party.
