- President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information on any possible links between a lab in China and the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The House and the Senate unanimously passed the legislation earlier this month. The push to make public classified information on the pandemic's origins comes after the Energy Department concluded with "low confidence" that the virus is likely the result of an accidental laboratory leak in China.
- "In implementing this legislation, my Administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible, consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that would harm national security," Biden said.
- Under the legislation, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines has 90 days to declassify all information on possible links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of Covid, CNBC reported.
- Biden noted that he had directed intelligence agencies to investigate COVID-19's origins in 2021, that work is ongoing, and his administration would continue to review all classified information, including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Reuters reported.
- "We need to get to the bottom of COVID-19's origins to help ensure we can better prevent future pandemics," Biden said.
- Photo via Rawpixel
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