politics
Intelligence watchdog says CIA has not fully cooperated on COVID origins review
The Intelligence Community Inspector General reported that the CIA has not supplied records needed for an inquiry into pandemic origins and alleged monitoring of analysts. The review examines whether a team tasked with examining earlier assessments faced interference.
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The Intelligence Community Inspector General stated that the CIA has not provided records required for an ongoing review of COVID-19 origins assessments. The June letter said the records are needed to determine whether the U.S. government engaged in a cover-up of the pandemic's origins.
The letter also noted concerns that analysts had their computer and phone usage tracked and that communications with whistleblowers were monitored. The inspector general described the CIA director's response on the monitoring issue as insufficient.
Background on the review The review focuses on a team assembled by the Director of National Intelligence to examine earlier intelligence products on the pandemic. The team operated as part of a unit known as the Director's Initiatives Group. A CIA special operations officer testified in May that intelligence community leaders influenced assessments to favor a natural origin conclusion.
The same testimony stated that six of seven technical experts continued to support a lab-leak hypothesis.
Statements from officials The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Americans deserve a full accounting of the intelligence community's response and whether whistleblowers were unlawfully monitored. The inspector general's April assessment confirmed the existence of new allegations regarding conflicts of interest in past COVID intelligence products.
A CIA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
