WASHINGTON, Jan 25, 2025 – The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has shifted its stance on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, now favoring the lab leak theory over natural transmission. This change comes after years of the agency stating it lacked sufficient information to draw a conclusion.
The new assessment, issued this past week, is based on the same body of evidence previously analyzed, but with a closer examination of conditions at high-security labs in Wuhan before the pandemic outbreak. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who has long supported the lab leak hypothesis, approved the declassification and release of the new analysis.
Despite the shift, the agency maintains that both the lab leak and natural origins theories remain plausible, with no decisive piece of intelligence on either side. The CIA continues to evaluate any credible new intelligence that could change its assessment.
The agency’s previous director, William Burns, had instructed analysts to take a position on the origins of Covid-19 during a classified review ordered by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in the final weeks of the Biden administration.
The ongoing debate over the pandemic’s origins carries significant geopolitical implications, particularly for US-China relations.