Pompeo Claims There Is Evidence Virus Came From Chinese Lab, But Intelligence Experts Say It’s Circumstantial
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo backed up President Donald Trump's assertions that the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese lab. While scientists have found that the virus is not man-made or genetically altered, some experts say it still could have come from a lab if a worker was exposed while studying the natural virus. Still, senior officials at U.S. intelligence agencies say in private that any evidence pointing to a lab accident is mainly circumstantial and based on public material.
ABC News:
Pompeo Says 'Enormous Evidence' For Unproven Theory That Coronavirus Came From Lab
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there are "enormous" signs that the novel coronavirus outbreak originated a biomedical laboratory in Wuhan, China -- the city where cases first exploded. "I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan," Pompeo said on ABC’s "This Week" Sunday. "Do you think they intentionally released that virus, or it was an accident in the lab?" Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz pressed. "I can't answer your question about that," he said, "because the Chinese Communist Party has refused to cooperate with world health experts." (Brown, Finnegan and Arnholz, 5/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pompeo Says There Is Evidence Coronavirus Came From Wuhan Lab
During a Fox News appearance Sunday night, President Trump suggested China engaged in a coverup because it was embarrassed. “I think they made a horrible mistake and they didn’t want to admit it,” he said. “We’re going to be giving a very strong report as to exactly what we think happened,” Mr. Trump said of questions about a Wuhan lab. “I think it will be very conclusive.” Mr. Trump previously said he has seen intelligence reports about China and the virus but declined to elaborate. (Viswanatha and Leary, 5/3)
The New York Times:
Pompeo Ties Coronavirus To China Lab, Despite Spy Agencies’ Uncertainty
The theories are not mutually exclusive: Some officials who have examined the intelligence reports, which remain classified, say it is possible an animal that was infected with the coronavirus in the laboratory was destroyed, and a lab worker was accidentally infected in the process. But that is just one of many theories still being examined. Senior American officials, including those who have looked at intelligence and who favor the lab theory, have said in private that evidence pointing to a lab accident is mainly circumstantial and based on public material. Intelligence officers have told senior administration officials that they probably will not find proof of a lab accident. And among scientists and especially virologists, there is largely agreement that the chances that a lab accident sparked the outbreak are slim, while the probability that the new virus made the leap from an animal to a human in a nonlab setting in southern China is much higher. (Sanger, 5/3)
CNN:
China Pushes Back Against US Claims That Coronavirus Originated From Wuhan Lab
A nationalist tabloid controlled by the Chinese Communist Party has dismissed claims by the Trump administration that the novel coronavirus originated from a laboratory, as the war of words over the pandemic escalates between Washington and Beijing. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday in an interview with ABC that there was "enormous evidence" Covid-19 originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak was first detected last December. He did not provide details to support the claim. (Gan, 5/4)
