House GOP claim Covid origins may be linked to CCP: report

On Wednesday night, members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence stated in a summary of the interim report, "Contrary to the implication of the [Intelligence Community’s] declassified report, based on our investigation involving a variety of public and non-public information, we conclude that there are indications that SARS-CoV-2 may have been tied to China’s biological weapons research program and spilled over to the human population during a lab-related incident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology."

"The IC failed to adequately address this information in its classified Updated Assessment. When we attempted to raise the issues with the IC, it failed to respond."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence in October 2021released a declassified assessment on the origins of COVID-19 which stated that SARS-CoV-2 was "probably not a biological weapon," and added, "We remain skeptical of allegations that SARS-CoV-2 was a biological weapon because they are supported by scientifically invalid claims."

This was supported by a Senate investigation conducted by Republicans in October by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that the virus likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory, most likely the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and noted a lack of evidence supporting the theory that COVID-19 was passed from animals to humans.

House Republicans alleged in Wednesday's report that its investigation "revealed serious shortcomings with both the classified and declassified versions of the Intelligence Community’s," and stated that the omissions "likely skewed the public’s understanding of key issues and deepened mistrust."

According to the report, "The Committee believes the IC downplayed important information relating to the possible links between COVID-19 and China’s bioweapons research based in part on input from outside experts," and the intelligence community "refuses to be transparent with the Committee regarding which experts it relied on."

However, the report stated, "We have not seen any credible indication that the virus was intentionally, rather than accidentally, released."

Additionally, "Nor do we claim the information we have found is a smoking gun that definitively resolves the question of the origins of COVID-19 beyond all doubt. However, the information is important to furthering the public’s understanding, and we will seek to declassify the classified version of our report in the next Congress to further the conversation."

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA), Whip Steve Scalise (LA), Oversight Ranking Member James Comer (KY), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), and HPSCI Ranking Member Mike Turner (OH) released a joint statement on Wednesday saying, “Americans are owed answers about the origins of COVID-19 and future health threats, and they deserve leaders in Washington who remain steadfast in finding the truth."

The statement continued, “Today’s HPSCI report led by Rep. Wenstrup marks significant progress toward that objective. The findings identify more culpability from the Chinese Communist Party, highlight the failures of the Intelligence Community to share pertinent information with the American public and their authorized representatives, and give more credibility to the lab leak theory – which many government officials, Big Tech platforms, and media outlets were quick to label a ‘conspiracy theory.’”

The GOP lawmakers pledged that in the coming year, “A Republican majority will continue this critical work across all committees of jurisdiction and we commit to finding the facts on a pandemic that negatively impacted millions of American families.”