Fresh intel raises questions over COVID origins

The Big Story 

Following reports about a new intelligence assessment, the State Department says President Biden has raised with Chinese President Xi Jinping the need for Beijing to address the origins of COVID-19.

© Hannah A. Bullock, Azaibi Tamin/CDC via AP, File

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the president and his most senior officials have pressed Beijing to provide more information and allow international investigations to take place unimpeded as part of efforts to determine where the virus originated.

“The President has raised this, the Secretary [of State] has raised this, the National Security Adviser has raised this, it’s been raised repeatedly and consistently at various levels because it is that important to us,” Price said of administration efforts to “impress upon the [People’s Republic of China] the importance of transparency.” 

Ongoing questions surrounding COVID-19’s origins are a vexing irritant in the U.S. and China relationship, with tensions between Washington and Beijing newly roiling over the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon in late January, plus Beijing’s close ties with Russia amid its war in Ukraine and the risk of conflict related to Taiwan. 

Price would not confirm a reported intelligence conclusion from the Department of Energy that assessed with “low confidence” that the outbreak of COVID-19 was the result of an accidental leak at a laboratory. It was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. 

Instead, Price pointed to a “variety of views within the intelligence community” that have lent support to two of the main theories for the origins of the virus: the virus leaked from a lab — in particular, the Wuhan Institute of Virology — or was the result of animal-to-human transmission. Price added that some intelligence agencies have reached no answer.

“There are some elements within the intelligence community that have reached conclusions on one side. There are others that have reached conclusions on the other. There are a number of intelligence community agencies that have put forward an assessment that essentially makes clear they don’t have enough information to conclude one way or another,” he said.

Read more on the reignited firestorm over the “lab leak” theory at TheHill.com.

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On Our Radar 

Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat: 

• John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, will speak to media on Tuesday at 8 a.m. ET.

• Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks will speak at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies conference on “The All-Volunteer Force at 50: Civil-Military Challenges and Opportunities” at 9 a.m. ET.

• Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch and Joint Staff Operations Director Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims will all testify Tuesday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on “Oversight of U.S. Military Support to Ukraine” at 10 a.m. ET.

In Other News 

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

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On Tap Tomorrow 

Events in and around the defense world: 

• Billington CyberSecurity will hold a discussion on “Executing DOD’s Cybersecurity Mission,” with Air Force CIO Lauren Knausenberger, among other defense officials, at 8 a.m.

• The Senate Veterans’ Affairs and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees will hold a joint hearing on “Legislative Presentation of Disabled American Veterans” at 10 a.m.

• The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on “Combatting the Generational Challenge of Chinese Communist Party Aggression” at 10 a.m.

• A House Appropriations subpanel will hold an oversight hearing on “Quality of Life in the Military” at 10:30 a.m.

• The House Appropriations defense subcommittee will hear from defense officials on “Ukraine Oversight” at 2 p.m.

• A House Armed Services Committee subpanel will hold a hearing on “COVID-19’s Impact on DoD and its Servicemembers,” at 2 p.m.

• A House Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Energy, Installations, and Environment Program Update,” at 2:30 p.m.

What We’re Reading 

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

• Grieving families trusted an Army financial adviser. They lost fortunes, The Washington Post reports.

• Six leaders fired from Air Force nuclear base in North Dakota, Military Times reports. 
  

Trending Today 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!