BREAKING: CIA backs lab leak theory as likely origin of COVID-19: report

The agency's analysis, based on evidence it has had for months, comes in response to a look into the conditions at high-security laboratories in Wuhan, China, prior to the pandemic, according to the New York Times.

The outlet reported that sources familiar with the agency’s work have said that this closer scrutiny of Wuhan labs has been a key focus in the agency’s assessment. A CIA spokesperson emphasized that while the lab leak theory currently has more support among analysts, other theories remain plausible, and the agency continues to evaluate all credible intelligence related to the pandemic's origins.

In the remaining days of the Biden administration, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ordered a classified review of the origin of COVID-19. Part of the review included former CIA director William J. Burns telling analysts that they need to take a position on how the virus originated.

Newly appointed CIA director John Ratcliffe has long supported the lab leak theory. On Thursday, he told Breitbart that he wanted the agency to no longer be "on the sidelines" regarding the pandemic origin debate.

"One of the things that I’ve talked about a lot is addressing the threat from China on a number of fronts, and that goes back to why a million Americans died and why the Central Intelligence Agency has been sitting on the sidelines for five years in not making an assessment about the origins of COVID. That’s a day-one thing for me," Ratcliffe said.

He added, “I think our intelligence, our science and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of Covid was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But the C.I.A. has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly. So I’m going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines.”