Breaking: Biden Orders Intel Officials to Report on COVID Origin Within 90 Days

- May 26, 2021

President Biden on Wednesday said that as U.S. intelligence officials have "coalesced around two likely scenarios" for how COVID-19 originated, he has tasked the intelligence community with redoubling their investigative efforts to bring the U.S. closer to a "definitive conclusion” within 90 days.

The president noted that when the virus first emerged he called on the CDC, as a presidential candidate, to "get access to China to learn about the virus so we could fight it more effectively."

“The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19,” Biden said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said he had his national security advisor direct the intelligence community to prepare a report on their most up-to-date analysis of the origins of COVID-19 in March, “including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.”

Biden said he had received the report earlier this month and asked for “additional follow-up.”

“As of today, the U.S. Intelligence Community has 'coalesced around two likely scenarios' but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” Biden said. “Here is their current position: 'while two elements in the IC leans toward the former scenario and one leans more toward the latter – each with low or moderate confidence – the majority of elements do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.'”

He continued: “I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days. As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.”

The president said he has also asked that the investigations include work by “our National Labs and other agencies of our government to augment the Intelligence Community's efforts” and said he has asked the intelligence community to keep Congress “fully apprised of its work.”

“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” Biden said.