– Fokus er på at viruset slapp ut fra et laboratorium

Richard Grenell er ny overordnet sjef for amerikansk etterretning. Foto: Stringer/Reuters/Scanpix

Director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell, sier amerikansk etterretning konsentrerer oppmerksomheten rundt Wuhan Institute of Virology og tror korona-viruset slapp ut derfra ved et uhell.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed on-record for the first time Thursday that the U.S. intelligence community is investigating whether the coronavirus outbreak, which has wreaked havoc across the globe, started as the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

Grenell bekrefter dermed hva kilder har fortalt Brett Baier og andre programledere i Fox News: Viruset kom ikke fra dyremarkedet, men det er heller ikke genetisk manipulert for å være et biologisk våpen.

“The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China. The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified,” a statement from the office of acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell said.

Kina har blankt avvist ønsket om en uavhengig internasjonal kommisjon som skal granske hvor viruset oppsto og hvordan det spredte seg. Beijing har truet Australia fordi Canberra har sluttet seg til ønsket om granskning.

Amerikansk etterretning gjennomfører sin egen undersøkelse. Når den er ferdig, vil den bli overlevert presidenten og hans team, som vil bestemme hva slags konsekvenser den skal få. Arbeidet vil ta tid – uker og kanskje måneder.

Once that investigation is complete — something that is expected to happen in the near-term — the findings will be presented to the Trump administration. At that point, White House policymakers and President Trump will use the findings to determine how to hold the country accountable for the pandemic.

Senior intelligence sources told Fox News that as of now, the investigation may continue for days, weeks or even months. They add there are very stringent requirements in place that must be met before investigators can present their findings to the Trump administration with confidence.

På ett punkt har etterretningen allerede konkludert: De er sikre på at Beijing mørkla epidemien slik at den fikk spre seg til resten av verden, og at WHO enten var delaktig eller så en annen vei.

US officials are 100 percent confident China went to great lengths to cover up after the virus was out, the sources said.

Additionally, the sources believe that the World Health Organization — which the president paused funding to this week over its role in the crisis — was either complicit in the coverup, or looked the other way.

Intel boss confirms investigation into whether coronavirus outbreak the ‘result of an accident’ at Wuhan lab