FBI Evidence of Chinese Lab Leak was reportedly withheld from President Joe Biden, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. This revelation comes from a former senior scientist at the FBI, Dr. Jason Bannan, who stated that the agency had “moderate confidence” in its conclusion that COVID-19 most likely originated from a Chinese laboratory leak. This assessment was the most confident among all domestic intelligence agencies, but it was not presented to the president.
In May 2021, President Biden had directed U.S. intelligence agencies and national laboratories to investigate the origins of the virus. The goal was to determine whether COVID-19 spread from animals to humans or if it was linked to a lab accident in China. Despite the FBI’s findings pointing to the lab leak theory, the agency was excluded from the subsequent briefing to President Biden. This exclusion raises questions about transparency within the intelligence community and its handling of crucial information.
FBI’s Findings on the Chinese Lab Leak Theory
Dr. Bannan, a microbiologist and former senior scientist, noted that the FBI’s analysis was unique because it was the only agency to express confidence that a lab leak was the most likely cause of the pandemic. This perspective was not shared by other agencies involved in the investigation. According to Bannan, the FBI anticipated being invited to brief President Biden, given the significance of its findings. However, the White House did not include them in the briefing, which has sparked concerns regarding the decision-making process within the U.S. intelligence community.
In contrast, the National Intelligence Council (NIC), a body that includes senior intelligence officers, conducted a separate review. Their conclusion, presented to Biden in August 2021, found “low confidence” in the lab leak theory, instead suggesting that the virus likely originated from animal-to-human transmission. The CIA and three other agencies supported this conclusion, but Bannan and other critics argue that the exclusion of the FBI’s higher-confidence findings should be re-examined.
Intelligence Community’s Handling of the Inquiry
A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) defended the review process, stating that it was not standard practice to invite individual agency representatives to the briefings with the president. They emphasized that divergent views were adequately represented in the overall analysis. The spokesperson also asserted that the work of the NIC complied with the Intelligence Community’s standards of objectivity and fairness.
However, the exclusion of the FBI’s assessment has prompted scrutiny from various quarters. A recent report released by a Republican-controlled committee on COVID-19 echoed concerns about the virus potentially emerging from a laboratory accident, further fueling debates over the origins of the pandemic. The controversy continues to raise questions about how intelligence agencies present critical findings and whether all relevant evidence is being fully considered in the ongoing investigations into the origins of COVID-19.