Former intelligence chief says lab leak theory is sole explanation for COVID-19

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said that a lab leak is the only credible explanation for the pandemic. Ratcliffe made the statement in his testimony at a Senate subcommittee hearing on the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday, April 18.

“My informed assessment, as a person with as much access as anyone to our government’s intelligence during the initial years of the pandemic has been and continues to be that a lab leak is the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, by science and by common sense,” Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe’s testimony comes on the heels of a report released by Republican leadership within the Senate Health Committee. The report found that two separate leaks at Chinese labs likely sparked the pandemic. The leaks date back to October of 2019.

The report did not decisively conclude that a lab leak was the cause. Rather, it was meant to compare the lab leak theory to the other leading theory that the virus was transferred to humans from a wild animal. However, the report concluded that the former theory was more likely, arguing that scientists haven’t found any naturally-occurring viruses with the same composition of the coronavirus. The report also cited evidence that the virus was circulating in Wuhan before the first known cases connected to a wet market that sold live animals were reported.

In addition, Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., noted during the hearing that researchers within the Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. He questioned whether the pandemic could have been contained if this information had been shared earlier.