https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/us/politics/cia-covid-lab-leak.html Skip to contentSkip to site index Politics Today's Paper Politics|C.I.A. Now Favors Lab Leak Theory to Explain Covid's Origins Skip to content https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/us/politics/ cia-covid-lab-leak.html * Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT C.I.A. Now Favors Lab Leak Theory to Explain Covid's Origins A new analysis that began under the Biden administration is released by the C.I.A.'s new director, John Ratcliffe, who wants the agency to get "off the sidelines" in the debate. Listen to this article * 7:21 min Learn more * Share full article * * John Ratcliffe sits and listens during his confirmation hearing. John Ratcliffe, the new director of the C.I.A., has long favored the lab leak hypothesis.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times Julian E. Barnes By Julian E. Barnes Julian Barnes has been reporting on the intelligence community's debates over the origins of the Covid pandemic since 2020. Jan. 25, 2025Updated 3:31 p.m. ET The C.I.A. has said for years that it did not have enough information to conclude whether the Covid pandemic emerged naturally from a wet market in Wuhan, China, or from an accidental leak at a research lab there. But the agency issued a new assessment this week, with analysts saying they now favor the lab theory. There is no new intelligence behind the agency's shift, officials said. Rather it is based on the same evidence it has been chewing over for months. The analysis, however, is based in part on a closer look at the conditions in the high security labs in Wuhan province before the pandemic outbreak, according to people familiar with the agency's work. A spokeswoman for the agency said the other theory remains plausible and that the agency will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting. Some American officials say the debate matters little: The Chinese government failed to either regulate its markets or oversee its labs. But others argue it is an important intelligence and scientific question. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Site Index Site Information Navigation * (c) 2025 The New York Times Company * NYTCo * Contact Us * Accessibility * Work with us * Advertise * T Brand Studio * Your Ad Choices * Privacy Policy * Terms of Service * Terms of Sale * Site Map * Canada * International * Help * Subscriptions * Manage Privacy Preferences