COVID-19 origins drawing further scrutiny in Washington

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — What does the federal government know about the origins of COVID-19 that the general public doesn’t?

That question is now gaining further scrutiny in Washington. In one congressional hearing Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Calif., asked for evidence that COVID-19 began in a wet market in China.

The possibility that COVID-19 started due to a lab leak in China had once been viewed by some as a fringe idea, but the U.S. Department of Energy now reportedly backs that theory — albeit with “low confidence.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who is leading the House Select Committee on China, is calling for greater public transparency.

“That means (the Biden administration) must declassify all the relevant intelligence surrounding the pandemic’s origins, and provide information as to who was advising the members of the intelligence community who have dismissed or downplayed the concept of a lab leak,” Gallagher said.

NewsNation is told other members of the committee stand behind Gallagher’s call for the public to know more.

But Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat on the Hill, isn’t ready to endorse declassification.
“Once the results occur … it depends,” he said. “I would have to look at the classified information and sources that were there.”

The White House, which has not confirmed the reports of the Energy Department backing the lab leak theory, suggested that more time is needed before the public might be able to get some of the questions answered.

“If we have something that we believe can be reported to the Congress and to the American people that we’re confident in, we will absolutely do that,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday.