Staff ReportsFederal agencies and scientists who believed that Covid-19 likely originated from a laboratory leak in China were effectively sidelined during a key presidential briefing on the pandemic’s origins, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Instead of hearing from the FBI, which was the only intelligence agency to express moderate confidence in the lab leak theory, President Biden had a different tune played for him in August 2021. Officials showed up to share their consensus that the virus most probably jumped from animals to humans. Meanwhile, those with contrary views were left outside the door, perhaps sipping on soy lattes or scrolling endlessly through TikTok.
During a hurried “90-day sprint” to assess the pandemic’s origin—ordered by Biden in May 2021—important voices were hushed. Within the walls of the Pentagon, three scientists from the National Center for Medical Intelligence unearthed data suggesting that risky research practices at a lab in Wuhan could be the source of Covid-19. Yet, their findings were conveniently omitted from the report presented to the President. It’s almost as if dissenting opinions were seen as unwelcome party crashers at the White House, ruining the good time of focusing on the approved narrative.
Jason Bannan, the FBI’s senior scientist focused on the pandemic, was prepped and ready to provide his insights during that pivotal briefing. Instead, he found himself treated like a ghost at a dinner party, invisible when the guest list was made. The ODNI feigned ignorance, stating it isn’t common for individual agency representatives to be invited to such prestigious events. Ironically, the same agency claimed that differing opinions were included in the final report. It seems that “objectivity” at the White House is as common as finding a needle in a haystack.
The three NCMI scientists not only noted advanced virus manipulation techniques in a Chinese research paper but also joined forces with FBI colleagues to investigate further. However, they were soon told to cease their collaboration, essentially pushed out of the loop. The esteemed authorities at the NCMI were convinced that the FBI had gone “off the reservation” when it came to probing the origins of the virus. It’s a good thing they weren’t betting on the CDC to make a quick run through a basic science curriculum; that might have been too optimistic.
Intelligence Blob Boxed Out Lab Leak Proponents As It Sold Fading Biden On Natural Origins Theory https://t.co/uQi8mDgqft
— Dawn Wildman (@WildmanDawn) December 26, 2024
A former State Department official, keen on promoting studies that suggested a natural origin—one that involved cozy ties with Chinese scientists—was given a prominent position at the National Intelligence Council soon after the sprint began. This move handed her significant influence over how the report would be structured. Curiously, she omitted frustrating details that contradicted the natural origins theory, such as the geographic plausibility surrounding Wuhan and the native bat population. The FBI’s experts argued that if the virus had actually jumped from animals, case clusters would be visible all over China. But, of course, disputing mainstream narratives is a likely ticket to be persona non grata among the power brokers who prefer their conclusions served with a side of political correctness.
