US Department of Energy Concludes "COVID-19 Originated from a Research Lab in China"

The U.S. Department of Energy has reversed its previous stance that the origin of COVID-19 was unclear and has come out in support of the hypothesis that it leaked from a Chinese laboratory.

On the 26th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the U.S. Department of Energy recently submitted a classified intelligence report containing this information to the White House and key members of Congress.

The Department of Energy oversees various national laboratories in the U.S., including those in the biological sciences, and is recognized as having considerable authority in scientific analysis. However, it did not disclose the reasons for concluding that the COVID-19 virus likely leaked from a laboratory rather than being transmitted to humans through wild animals.

Prior to the Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also concluded that the origin of COVID-19 was a laboratory in China.

According to U.S. government officials, the FBI and the Department of Energy had different reasons for identifying a laboratory as the virus's origin. The FBI reached this conclusion with moderate confidence, while the Department of Energy held a lower level of confidence, according to sources who have read the report.

Separately, the National Intelligence Council (NIC) and four other intelligence agencies, which also investigated the origin of COVID-19, place more weight on the natural emergence theory, unlike the FBI and the Department of Energy. Two intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have yet to reach a conclusion.

WSJ explained that the theory of a leak from a Chinese laboratory does not imply that the Chinese government created the virus for biological weapons development.

Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, appeared on CNN that day and said, "Regarding the WSJ report, there are various views within the intelligence community. Some have reached one conclusion, and others another. At this point, there is no final answer from the intelligence community." He added, "Many say they do not have enough information to be confident. What I can say is that the President has repeatedly directed all our intelligence agencies to devote effort and resources to uncovering the truth on this matter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.