Daily Mail: Coronavirus is NOT 'man-made or genetically modified,' U.S. intelligence agencies conclude - but spies ARE probing whether it leaked from Wuhan lab by accident
* Statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence rules out conspiracy theory that coronavirus was man-made
* It says U.S. spy agencies, collectively called the intelligence community, agree with 'wide scientific consensus that Covid-19 was not man-made'
* They also rule out genetic modification but say that they are still investigating whether it escaped from lab in Wuhan by accident
* Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump's secretary of state, has said China needs to let U.S. investigators into the Wuhan lab
* 'We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was,' Pompeo said two weeks ago
* Chinese government said that any claims that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory are 'unfounded and purely fabricated out of nothing'
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that the new coronavirus was 'not manmade or genetically modified' but say they are still examining whether the origins of the pandemic trace to contact with infected animals or an accident at a Chinese lab.
The statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the clearinghouse for the web of U.S. spy agencies, comes as President Donald Trump and his allies have touted the as-yet-unproven theory that an infectious disease lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese outbreak, was the source of the global pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 worldwide.
The statement was made shortly after claims surfaced in the New York Times that intelligence analysts were concerned that intelligence could be distorted to fit a pre-determined conclusion.
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WNU Editor: President Trump disagrees .... Trump says he's seen evidence suggesting coronavirus emerged from Wuhan lab, compares WHO to PR agency (FOX News). More here .... Trump contradicts US intel community by claiming he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in Chinese lab (CNN). What's my take of this U.S. intelligence assessment. Bottom line. The U.S. intel community does not know. They made their determination solely based on what is the scientific consensus on the origins of this disease. But in the past few months I have lost count on the changing narrative of this disease. Starting with the narrative that it was not capable of transmitting from human to human, to the current narrative that it came naturally from a "wet market". As of this writing the US intel community has not given their sources of information that helped them make this assessment. I say that this reluctance to be transparent is unfortunate. Especially in view of the fact that China has not permitted any outside observers and specialists to enter China to examine the origins of this disease.
More News On U.S. Intelligence Agencies Saying The Coronavirus Is Not 'Man-Made Or Genetically Modified'
US intelligence concludes the coronavirus is not manmade, but it is studying lab accident theory -- AP
Top US spy agency says coronavirus was ‘not manmade or genetically modified’ -- CNBC
US intelligence community says it concurs with the 'wide scientific consensus' that the coronavirus was not 'man-made or genetically modified' -- Business Insider