Current:Home > MyWray publicly comments on the FBI's position on COVID's origins, adding political fire -FutureProof Finance
Wray publicly comments on the FBI's position on COVID's origins, adding political fire
View
Date:2025-04-18 03:26:58
FBI Director Christopher Wray has told Fox News that the bureau's ongoing investigation into the origins of COVID-19 suggests the virus was unleashed after a potential lab incident in Wuhan, China. The FBI's assessment is not the consensus among intelligence and scientific communities.
"The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan," Wray said, adding later in the interview that the FBI's work on the matter continues.
"I will just make the observation that the Chinese government seems to me has been doing its best to try to thwart and obfuscate the work here ... and that's unfortunate for everybody."
The assessment is not new. The bureau previously concluded with moderate confidence that COVID first emerged accidentally from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which worked on coronaviruses.
And the FBI's assessment is far from universal. Four other U.S. intelligence agencies as well as the National Intelligence Council say, with low confidence, that COVID emerged through natural transmission.
Nevertheless, Wray's remarks are the first in public by a senior law enforcement official following the Energy Department's classified report, published by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, saying the pandemic was likely caused by a lab leak in China. That assessment was reportedly "low confidence."
Concerns about the origins of COVID come as tensions rise between the U.S. and China
Eight U.S. government agencies are investigating the source of COVID-19, and they remain very divided on the issue. None of them is certain about the cause. Four lean toward natural causes. Two haven't taken a position.
Meanwhile, the evidence produced by the greater scientific community points overwhelmingly to a natural cause, via exposure to an infected animal.
The resurrection of the debate over COVID's origins comes at a fraught time for Sino-U.S. relations.
The two sides have clashed over China's use of alleged spy balloons over the U.S.; its policy toward Russia and Ukraine; its belligerence toward Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province; and the apparent dangers of TikTok.
On Tuesday, in a rare show of bipartisanship, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill focused on threats they believe are posed by the Chinese government in a series of hearings culminating with one held by the newly created House Select Committee on strategic competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.
veryGood! (53315)
Related
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- A 'modern masterpiece' paints pandemic chaos on cloth made of fig-tree bark
- Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny Make Their Romance Gucci Official
- Lego moves in another direction after finding plastic bottle prototype won't reduce emissions
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- Court denies bid by former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark to move 2020 election case to federal court
- Who is Duane 'Keefe D' Davis? What to know about man arrested in Tupac Shakur's killing
- Deal Alert: Shop Stuart Weitzman Shoes From Just $85 at Saks Off Fifth
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Browns TE David Njoku questionable for Ravens game after sustaining burn injuries
Ranking
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Prominent Egyptian political activist and acclaimed academic dies at 85
- Senate confirms Mississippi US Attorney, putting him in charge of welfare scandal prosecution
- Kronthaler’s carnival: Westwood’s legacy finds its maverick heir in Paris
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Paris Jackson Claps Back After Haters Call Her Haggard in Makeup-Free Selfie
- Every gift Miguel Cabrera received in his 2023 farewell tour of MLB cities
- Maui wildfire missed signals stoke outrage as officials point fingers
Recommendation
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
Jimmy Carter admirers across generations celebrate the former president’s 99th birthday
Bob Baffert files lawsuit claiming extortion over allegedly 'damaging' videos
Love Is Blind's Chris Fox Reveals Why He Gave Johnie Maraist a Second Chance
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Britney Spears Grateful for Her Amazing Friends Amid Divorce From Sam Asghari
Collection of 100 classic cars up for auction at Iowa speedway: See what's for sale
IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn accused of disclosing Trump's tax returns