By The Smartencyclopedia Staff & Agencies
Recent revelations suggest that the FBI may have been aware of a potential lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) as early as March 2020, contradicting the narrative presented by FBI Director Christopher Wray in February 2023. A new report from Michael Shellenberger’s investigative organization, Public, indicates that a Chinese national serving as an FBI informant in Wuhan provided critical information about the virus’s origin.
According to multiple sources, the informant informed the FBI’s Chinese Intelligence Squad that an individual working at the WIV lab was infected, left the facility, and spread the virus outside. The information contradicts the initial claims linking the virus to wet markets and bat soup.
The informant allegedly stated to the FBI that the virus’s origin “didn’t have anything to do with the wet market or the bat soup story they were going with.” Public sources suggest that this information, provided by a vetted and reliable source, likely circulated among the Chinese Intelligence Squad, comprising 25 individuals.
Insiders claim the FBI considered the lab leak information as “good intel” given the credibility of the confidential human source. However, the revelation raises questions about the timing of the FBI’s public acknowledgment of the lab leak.
Sources who disclosed this information expressed concerns over potential abuses of power within the FBI and requested anonymity. This disclosure adds to recent challenges to the theory of the zoonotic origin promoted by figures like Anthony Fauci.
A watchdog group, U.S. Right to Know, recently published documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests related to a 2018 grant application known as “DEFUSE.” The documents reveal plans to engineer a virus similar to COVID-19, raising questions about gain-of-function experiments and the virus’s potential laboratory origin.
The proposed furin cleavage site, a feature absent in related coronaviruses, has drawn particular attention. Many scientists doubt the natural occurrence of furin cleavage sites. The newly published documents also detail plans to assemble synthetic viruses, identify coronaviruses significantly different from SARS, and select receptor-binding domains suitable for infecting humans.
The controversy around gain-of-function studies intensified as Danish biologist Kristian G. Andersen raised concerns in January 2020 about a study resembling a “how-to manual for building the Wuhan coronavirus in a laboratory.” Andersen and virologist Edward Holmes pointed to genetic engineering features in the virus’s genome, prompting discussions within the scientific community.
Despite early warnings, Anthony Fauci downplayed the lab leak theory, emphasizing zoonotic origins. The Lancet published a statement in February 2020, co-signed by Peter Daszak, deriding lab leak suggestions as “conspiracy theories.” The recent disclosures raise questions about the transparency of information related to the virus’s origins and the handling of intelligence within the FBI.