As more US officials have come to see the lab leak theory as credible, their tone toward Beijing has also become firmer. A source familiar with the ongoing review said that several top administration officials, including Sullivan, view the accidental lab leak theory as equally plausible to the natural origins theory. Intelligence agencies that were skeptical of the lab leak theory a year ago, like the CIA, also now view it as a credible line of inquiry, this person said. Gaining tractionFor the better part of 2020, advocates for the lab leak theory had to fight against claims they were being xenophobic or racist — in part thanks to anti-Chinese rhetoric from then-President Trump, who embraced the theory. But there is also no smoking gun for the lab leak theory, according to multiple sources.

Source: CNN July 16, 2021 22:18 UTC