"My administration will continue to review all classified information relating to COVID–19’s origins," Joe Biden promised while signing the COVID-19 Origin Act. It was March 20. The law gave the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Danica Haines, 90 days to publish certain data on the origins of Covid-19. On June 18, Biden's nominee missed this deadline.
The law signed by the president acknowledged that there was "reason to believe the COVID–19 pandemic may have originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology." He clarified that publishing this information had two objectives: to prevent future pandemics and to identify the origin of the virus.
Specifically, the law required Haines to detail the activities carried out by the Wuhan Institute of Virology for the Chinese Army or simply that related to coronaviruses. It also details that the name, symptoms and activities carried out by researchers in that laboratory who became ill at the beginning of the pandemic should be disclosed.
Just this week it was revealed that at least three scientists fit this description. One of them is Ben Hu, while the identity of the other two is unknown. Chinese scientists were studying how coronaviruses infect humans in a U.S.-funded project. All fell ill in November 2019 with symptoms compatible with Covid-19, according to Intelligence reports.
What are the names of the other two researchers? At the moment, this information has not been released and if it is in the possession of the Director of National Intelligence, it should have been disclosed according to the law signed by Biden. According to the Washington Post, sources close to the official declined to comment. In the absence of verified information from official channels, some reports indicate that the other scientists are Yu Ping and Yan Zhu.
COVID–19 Origin Act of 2023 by Santiago Adolfo Ospital
Legislators call for action
Rep. Mike Gallagher's office issued a statement after Congress overwhelmingly passed the bill. "Congress should use every tool at its disposal to make this intel available." However, neither the representative nor those close to him clarified what measures they intend to take.
Senators Josh Hawley and Mike Braun sent the president a letter reminding him that the deadline to comply with the law he himself had passed was just one week away.
"Your administration has not yet provided any indication of when the relevant material will be declassified," reads the letter dated June 14. In addition, they point out that the government should not use national security as an excuse to hide information:
The Act does not allow for redactions based on your Administration’s view of “national security” broadly defined, as you claimed in your signing statement. Rather, the Act only provides for much narrower redactions to protect intelligence sources and methods. Your Administration should comply with the law as written and not undermine clear congressional intent to provide as much transparency to the American people as possible.
The difficulty of publishing this information without jeopardizing national security is precisely one of the explanations given by official sources to justify the delay, according to journalist Michael Shellenberger.
However, the renowned author also points out that "other reasons" may be that the evidence supports the theory of a laboratory leak. In that case, senior U.S. officials, including Anthony Fauci, would be responsible for causing the pandemic and covering up its origin.
