The Blubber

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) announced Saturday that it has revised its previous stance and now believes the Covid-19 virus was likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory before it spread globally. However, the agency emphasized that it has “low confidence” in this conclusion.

"The CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting," a CIA spokesperson stated. "The agency continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios remain plausible."

The CIA clarified that it does not have high confidence in this conclusion and will continue evaluating any new intelligence or relevant information.

For years, the agency had maintained that it was uncertain whether Covid-19 originated from human exposure to an infected animal or from an incident at a Chinese research lab.

Divisions Within U.S. Intelligence

U.S. intelligence agencies and government departments have long been divided on the virus’s origins. The FBI and the Department of Energy have leaned toward the lab leak theory, while other agencies argue that natural exposure to an infected animal remains the most likely explanation. Until now, the CIA had remained neutral on the issue.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the CIA’s new assessment was not based on new intelligence but rather a review of existing information. This review was ordered in the final weeks of the Biden administration and was completed before President Donald Trump took office.

Outgoing CIA Director William Burns had previously instructed analysts to take a position on Covid-19’s origins instead of remaining neutral. However, he did not direct them toward a specific conclusion, the source said.

The New York Times first reported details of the review.

Trump-Appointed CIA Director Approves Release

The agency’s newly confirmed director, John Ratcliffe, who was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate this week, approved the declassification of the new assessment. Ratcliffe has long supported the idea that Covid-19 originated from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Speaking to Breitbart News in an interview published Friday, Ratcliffe criticized the CIA’s previous neutrality and said it was time for the agency to “get off the sidelines.”

“One of the things I’ve talked about extensively is addressing the threat from China on multiple fronts. That includes the question of why a million Americans died and why the CIA has spent five years avoiding an assessment on Covid’s origins,” Ratcliffe said. “That’s a day-one priority for me.”