Author of Wall Street Journal “Wuhan lab” story wrote lies about Iraqi “Weapons of Mass Destruction”
On May 23, the
Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Intelligence on Sick Staff at Wuhan Lab Fuels Debate on Covid-19 Origin.” Citing unnamed “current and former officials,” it claimed that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology “went to hospital in November 2019, shortly before confirmed outbreak” of COVID-19.
Two days later, on May 25, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, speaking at the United Nations World Health Assembly, demanded a “transparent” investigation into the origins of COVID-19.
The next day, On May 26, US President Joe Biden called on the “Intelligence Community” to investigate whether COVID-19 arose “from a laboratory accident” and “report back to me in 90 days.”
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to redouble their efforts to try and figure out the origin of the coronavirus, and he wants the answer in 90 days. There are still questions about whether the virus spilled over from animals to humans or if it was accidentally leaked from a lab. But is it possible to get a conclusive answer about the origin without cooperation from China? NPR China affairs correspondent John Berwick is here to talk about this with us. Hi, John.
JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So let s just start there. I mean, is cooperation from China even possible?
Democrats are rejecting the GOP's infrastructure counter-proposal. Biden ordered an investigation into the coronavirus origins. And, travel is up for Memorial Day as pandemic restrictions ease.