Department of Energy and intelligence community officials briefed members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on classified information related to COVID-19’s origins Thursday but offered no definitive revelations, according to lawmakers.
The briefing follows the news that the department now concludes with “low confidence” that the virus more likely originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, rather than through natural evolution. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also believes the “lab leak” theory with “moderate confidence,” although the National Intelligence Council and four other agencies hold the opposite view.
The officials offered details on why they changed from their previously neutral position, according to senators in the briefing. The DOE’s national labs employ scientists in a range of specialties beyond energy.
