According to multiple reports, the U.S. Department of Energy has concluded with “low confidence” that the COVID-19 pandemic was “likely” caused by a laboratory leak in China, though key intelligence agencies are still divided over the origins of the coronavirus.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Department of Energy concluded with “low confidence” that the COVID-19 pandemic was “likely” caused by a laboratory leak in China, according to multiple reports

  • The conclusion was made in a classified intelligence report prepared for the White House and members of Congress, anonymous sources told multiple media outlets

  • In a White House press briefing on Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby did not confirm the reports but instead emphasized that U.S. agencies had not yet come to a consensus on the virus's origins

  • In August of 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report suggesting the intelligence community was divided over whether the COVID-19 came from a lab leak, or if it jumped naturally from an animal to a human

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday and confirmed by other media outlets. The conclusion was made in a classified intelligence report prepared for the White House and members of Congress, anonymous sources told the outlets.

According to the Journal, the agency shifted its stance regarding the origin of the pandemic in light of new intelligence, deliberation with outside experts and scrutiny of academic research, but they did not detail specifics. The Department of Energy did not answer a Spectrum News request for comment.

At a White House press briefing on Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby did not confirm the reports. He instead emphasized that U.S. agencies had not yet come to a consensus on the origins of the virus.

"There's not been a definitive conclusion," he said. "What the president wants is facts. He wants the whole government designed to go get those facts. And that's what we're doing, and we're just not there yet."

The work to determine the origins is ongoing, but critical, Kirby added, to preventing future pandemics.

"We really do want to know what what happened here," he said. 

Shortly after taking office two years ago, President Joe Biden ordered a review into the origins of COVID-19, “including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.”

In August of 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report suggesting the intelligence community was divided over whether the COVID-19 came from a lab leak, or if it jumped naturally from an animal to a human.

“After examining all available intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC remains divided on the most likely origin of COVID-19,” the unclassified report reads. "All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident.”

A spokesperson for the energy department told CNN: "The Department of Energy continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of our intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of COVID-19, as the President directed."

U.S. intelligence agencies have three classifications for making assessments: “high confidence,” “medium confidence” and “low confidence.” Officials familiar with the intelligence told The New York Times that the energy department's assessment was somewhat weak, and the use of “low confidence” implies that the level of uncertainty was high.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that “there is not a definitive answer that has emerged from the intelligence community” when it comes to the origins of the pandemic.

“Some elements of the intelligence community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other,” Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “A number of them have said they just don't have enough information to be sure.”

He added: “One of the things in that ‘Wall Street Journal’ report ... the reference to the Department of Energy: President Biden specifically requested that the National Labs, which are part of the Department of Energy, be brought into this assessment because he wants to put every tool at use to be able to figure out what happened here.”

Sullivan concluded by saying that when they have new information to share, they will do so.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan called for “extensive hearings” if the U.S. determines COVID-19 came from a Chinese laboratory.

“I think we need to have public hearings on this and really dig into it,” the Alaska Republican said.

House Republicans, who recently won back the majority in Congress' lower chamber, have launched probes into the origins of COVID-19. Lawmakers sent letters seeking documents and testimony to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who recently retired after decades of government service.