US intelligence agency investigating virus origin, says COVID-19 ‘not manmade’

The agency that oversees the entire U.S. intelligence community has released an unusual public statement on Thursday outlining its ongoing investigation of the origins of the novel coronavirus outbreak, amid reports suggesting the White House has been pressuring analysts to conclude that the outbreak spread from a lab in Wuhan, China.

“The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China,” reads the statement released from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.”