- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
23% believe covid-19 was born in a laboratory 0:26
(CNN) - U.S. national security and intelligence officials say the U.S. government is studying the possibility that the new coronavirus may have originated from a Chinese laboratory rather than a market, according to several sources familiar with the matter who warn that it is premature to draw conclusions.
The theory is one of many pursued by researchers as they try to determine the origin of the coronavirus that resulted in a pandemic and has killed hundreds of thousands. The United States does not believe the virus is associated with biological weapons research, and officials noted that the intelligence community is also exploring a number of other theories about the origin of the virus, such as high-profile incidents, according to a intelligence source.
The theory has been spurred by supporters of the president, including some Republicans in Congress, who are eager to deflect criticism of Trump's handling of the pandemic.
READ : How did the coronavirus outbreak break out? Markets, biological weapons, bats and other theories of the researchers behind the pandemic
An intelligence official familiar with the government's analysis said that one theory that US intelligence officials are investigating is that the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and was accidentally released to the public.
Other sources told CNN that US intelligence. USA He has not been able to corroborate the theory, but is trying to discern whether someone was infected in the laboratory by accident or by improper material handling and may have infected others.
US intelligence is reviewing the collection of sensitive intelligence directed at the Chinese government, according to the source, as they study the theory. But some intelligence officials say the real cause may never be known.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley acknowledged this week that US intelligence is "analyzing" the question of whether the new coronavirus originated in a laboratory.
"I would just say, at this point, that it is inconclusive, although the weight of the evidence seems to indicate a natural origin. But we don't know for sure, "Milley told reporters Tuesday.
READ : China's wet markets are not what some people think
When asked about intelligence, which was first reported by Yahoo and Fox News, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States "is doing a thorough examination of this horrible situation that happened," but declined to discuss. what they had told him about the findings.
The laboratory theory has been denied by the Chinese government, and many outside experts have also questioned the idea, CNN previously reported.
A source close to the White House coronavirus task force also warned that "every time there is an outbreak, someone proposes that the virus or other pathogen leave a laboratory."
An official called China's way of handling the virus treatment "completely reprehensible," and intelligence researchers are determined to build a more complete picture of how it originated.
The Washington Post has reported on 2018 State Department cables showing concerns about the safety and management of the Wuhan Institute of Virology biolab. When asked about those cables, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has continued to call the coronavirus the "Wuhan virus," did not rule them out, but neither did he say they showed any legitimate link to covid-19.
"The Chinese Communist Party did not give Americans access when we needed it at the most opportune time in the beginning," Pompeo said earlier this week. "Then we know they have this laboratory. We know about wet (fresh food) markets. We know that the virus itself originated in Wuhan. So all those things come together. There are still many things we don't know, and this is what the President was talking about today. We need to have the answers to these things. "
READ : As China returns to work, many wonder if the country's recovery from the coronavirus can be trusted
Some of the officials said that EE. USA intends for China to pay a price, but they acknowledge that the US USA it must be careful not to inflict a cost on China before the pandemic is under control and until they have more information about its creation.
CNN's Jim Acosta contributed to this report.
Laboratory