A classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress indicates that the U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory leak, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
This conclusion represents a shift by the Energy Department, which was previously undecided on the virus’s origin. The report also notes that different parts of the intelligence community have arrived at disparate judgments about the pandemic’s origin, with four agencies and a national intelligence panel believing that it was likely the result of natural transmission and two remaining undecided.
The Energy Department’s conclusion is significant because it has considerable scientific expertise and oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories. The agency arrived at its conclusion with “low confidence,” according to individuals familiar with the classified report.
The FBI had previously concluded that the pandemic was likely the result of a lab leak in 2021 with “moderate confidence” and still holds this view.
U.S. officials have declined to provide details on the recent intelligence and analysis that caused the Energy Department to change its stance. They have also noted that while the Energy Department and FBI both believe an unintended lab leak is the most likely origin of the pandemic, they arrived at their conclusions for different reasons.
The updated document highlights how intelligence officials are still working to piece together the puzzle of how Covid-19 emerged. The pandemic, which began over three years ago, has resulted in the deaths of over one million Americans.