According to a media report, the U.S. Department of Energy has changed its assessment of the origin of the coronavirus and is now assuming a possible lab error. This is according to a classified intelligence report recently presented to the White House and key members of Congress, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday citing unnamed sources. The Department of Energy now agrees with the FBI’s assessment that the virus likely spread through a malfunction in a Chinese lab. However, the ministry assumes this with a “low” degree of certainty.
US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday he could neither confirm nor deny the report. “At the moment there is no definitive answer from the Secret Services to this question,” Sullivan stressed, referring to the origin of the virus. “Some parts of the intelligence community have jumped to conclusions on the one hand, and others have said they simply don’t have enough information to be sure.”
China denies allegations
Some US authorities remain of the opinion that the virus was likely transmitted naturally, others are undecided. The Department of Energy’s conclusion is based on new evidence, according to the report. However, it remained unclear what these findings were. According to the Wall Street Journal, the ministry was rather undecided in its assessment. Like other U.S. departments, the Department has its own Intelligence and Counterintelligence Office, which is part of the U.S. intelligence community. These trace the origin of the coronavirus.
In 2021, after several months of close scrutiny, there was no agreement among US intelligence agencies on the origin of the coronavirus. Whether the virus came from a laboratory or jumped from an animal to humans remains to be seen, according to a report published at the time in which the intelligence services of various authorities made their assessments. China has always denied allegations of a possible lab accident. (SDA/zis)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
