VIDEO: CIA Shifts Stance, Says COVID-19 'Most Likely' Originated From Lab

The Central Intelligence Agency said the Covid-19 pandemic “more likely” originated from a lab leak than a natural source, shifting its stance after previously saying both scenarios were possible. The CIA’s new view aligns the agency with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy, which say the pandemic that caused more than 7 million deaths worldwide, likely originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. Other US agencies have assessed that the initial infection was most likely caused by natural exposure to an animal. “CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting,” a spokesperson for the agency said Saturday in a statement. The announcement follows the arrival of CIA Director John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the agency, who has been vocal on the issue. In an interview with Breitbart published on Friday — a day after his swearing-in — Ratcliffe said the CIA’s assessment of Covid’s origins would be a “day-one thing for me.” “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,” Ratcliffe told Breitbart. The CIA continues to assess both origin scenarios as plausible and will evaluate any available intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change its assessment, the spokesperson said.