US government at odds over Corona: Does the virus come from the laboratory after all?

Even three years after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the puzzle continues: Where exactly does the virus come from? In the USA, the authorities come to different assessments. The opposition uses this for criticism.

Does the corona virus come from the laboratory? New findings by the secret services have led the Washington Department of Energy to assume that the corona pandemic is due to a laboratory failure in China. Albeit with “low confidence”, with little conviction, so the revelation of the “Wall Street Journal”.

Apparently, after the FBI, a second US agency considers the speculation about a laboratory leak in Wuhan to be plausible – but still not the majority of the government departments involved.

No consensus on the origin of the virus

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, also acknowledged that there is still no consensus within the Biden administration on the origin of the coronavirus. The President continues to believe it is essential to investigate the cause, Kirby said. This is the only way to fight future pandemics.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s top security adviser, made a similar statement on Sunday. “If we get any more inside information, we will share it with Parliament and the American people,” Sullivan said. However, there is currently no binding answer from the secret services to the question of origin.

Pressure in Congress mounts

It is no coincidence that Sullivan specifically appeases Congress. The pressure is increasing from the ranks of parliamentarians to finally bring light into the darkness – and not just from the opposition anymore.

“This is a very disturbing report,” said MP Ro Khanna, a Democrat. Which security authority is right can probably only be finally clarified if China shows more transparency, said Khanna. For the time being, however, the USA would have to sweep its own front door: Biden had to bring the authorities involved to a table, have their information exchanged and get them to come to a joint assessment, the Democrat demanded.

Opposition uses the different assessment

For the opposition, the different assessments within the government are a godsend. The Republicans gleefully wedge against Biden and against social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which in the meantime have had posts that talked about a man-made virus deleted.

Democrat Khanna also speaks of censorship. “It was wrong to silence those who spoke of a laboratory accident,” said Khanna. It’s at least a plausible theory, even if the Department of Energy is considering it.