WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a law Monday mandating the declassification of similar origins to COVID-19, a mystery that has divided the 8 U. S. government agencies into the country. U. S. officials investigating the source.
The Republican-sponsored bill, which passed the House and Senate unopposed, requires the director of national intelligence to release the data within 90 days. However, the government may retain the data to protect how it collected it.
The White House showed the president’s signature Monday night after refusing to reveal Biden’s position on the bill last week, remaining no-binding until it was signed.
“I recognize Congress’ purpose to release as much data as possible on the origin of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” Biden said in a statement. “We want to get to the bottom of the origins of COVID-19 to make sure we can avoid pandemics in the long run. “
The law only applies to those connected to the Wuhan Institute of Virology as a possible source of the virus that causes COVID-19, a politically charged problem. Republicans have accused Biden of not being tough enough on China.
The virus first appeared in 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
New cited through the World Health Organization contributes to the theory that the virus originated in animals. Samples taken from a Chinese seafood market in Wuhan show raccoon dog DNA combined with the virus.
The genetic sequences were recently added through Chinese scientists to a public viral database, and then deleted, but not before the data was shared.
Biden highlighted his 2021 directive for the federal government on the origins of COVID-19, an effort that is still ongoing, and said his management will “continue to review all classified data related to the origins of COVID-19, adding potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. “
In implementing the legislation, Biden said his management would declassify and percentage “as much of this data as possible,” in accordance with his constitutional authority to release data that would harm national security.
According to the declassified summary of government investigations submitted to the White House in 2021, only one of the 8 agencies that investigated the link in the first place favored the institute as the most likely source. The Wall Street Journal has since reported that Energy Department, which had been one of 3 agencies that failed to reach a conclusion, is now leaning toward the theory that the virus leaked from the Institute of Virology.
Four intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council have concluded, with little confidence, that the virus is most likely spreading to humans from an inflamed animal.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. , who sponsored the declassification bill, welcomed Biden’s resolve to point it out, writing in a tweet: “Let other people see for themselves!A big win for transparency. Now is the time for accountability. “
After taking over the House in January, Republicans have made investigating the origins of COVID one of their most sensitive priorities.
Rep. Michael Turner, the Ohio Republican who heads the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel is aware of data that could help explain why “a lab leak theory is not just a possibility, but it comes close to the idea that it’s likely. “
“The intelligence network has more data on COVID-19 than the public realizes,” Turner said when the House debated the bill on March 10. “This lab and the other people who worked there may be the key to locating the truth. “
Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the most sensible Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said classified data shows there is no answer yet. But Himes said the government deserves to release as much declassified data as possible because transparency is key.
“The factual basis of (intelligence communities) investigation can be an antidote to speculation, rumor and theories that spread in the absence of information,” he said.
Contribute: The Associated Press
Opinion: We will never know the full fact about the origins of COVID-19. Political disputes will be of no use.