U.S. intelligence chiefs today cited Chinese aggression in the region as an “unprecedented” priority; they also said they have not yet clarified how COVID-19 (the Chinese Communist virus) was first transmitted to humans, but did not rule out the possibility that the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei province.
PBS reported that the head of the U.S. intelligence unit went to Congress today to testify at the first Worldwide Threats public hearing in more than two years. Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee, “Given that the issue of the Chinese Communist Party is an unprecedented priority in the intelligence community, I will begin with the threat from the Beijing authorities at some level.”
She described the Chinese Communist Party as a competitor of almost equal capability, sufficient to challenge the United States in a number of areas.
For his part, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the FBI’s investigations related to the Chinese Communist Party are set up one every 10 hours.
Today’s appearance by Haynes and others marks the first time since January 2019 that the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies have testified at a public hearing on the “global threat.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Paul Nakasone, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier were also present to testify.
In addition, Haynes told members of Congress during the hearing that, indeed, the intelligence community has yet to clarify when, where or even how the 2019 coronavirus disease (Chinese communist virus, COVID-19) was first transmitted to humans.
In response to a question from Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), she said, “Basically, there are two major theories: one is that it was naturally transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals; the second is that it was caused by a laboratory accident.”
She said, “The intelligence community is continuing to investigate the matter, collect evidence, and do their best to point out with the utmost confidence which theory is true.”
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