Testimony From CIA Whistleblower Alleges New Information on COVID-19 Origins

[+OverSword]

Quote

Staff on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have heard testimony from a whistleblower alleging that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offered six analysts significant monetary incentives to change their position on COVID-19’s origin. The whistleblower, who presents as a highly credible senior-level CIA officer, alleges that of the seven members assigned to the CIA team tasked with analyzing COVID-19 origins, six officers concluded that the virus likely originated from a lab in Wuhan, China. The CIA, then however, allegedly offered financial incentives to six of the experts involved in the investigation to change their conclusion in favor of a zoonotic origin

https://oversight.house.gov/release/testimony-from-cia-whistleblower-alleges-new-information-on-covid-19-origins/

[+OverSword]

 

[+and-then]

I think that even if the government itself came forward and said, "yeah, we lied and it began in Wuhan in the lab", there would still be a majority that would make excuses for them rather than admit they were wrong to believe the initial reports.  People absolutely loathe admitting they were wrong.  My opinion hasn't changed.  I don't care how or where this contagion began, the CCP intentionally weaponized it when they locked down their own country but let international flights continue.  

[spartan max2]

That's a pretty big allegation. They should definitely subpoena and look into it. If they received a large amount of money then there would have to be some kind of paper trail to these analysis banks, stocks, or whatever.

Edited September 22 by spartan max2

[+OverSword]

19 minutes ago, and-then said:

I think that even if the government itself came forward and said, "yeah, we lied and it began in Wuhan in the lab", there would still be a majority that would make excuses for them rather than admit they were wrong to believe the initial reports.  People absolutely loathe admitting they were wrong.  My opinion hasn't changed.  I don't care how or where this contagion began, the CCP intentionally weaponized it when they locked down their own country but let international flights continue.  

I doubt a majority would.  A lot of the people who are vehement about natural origin (and to be fair it could be of natural origin and still have escaped from the lab) would proceed to never speak on the subject again rather than be upset about being deceived.

[+and-then]

7 minutes ago, OverSword said:

I doubt a majority would.  A lot of the people who are vehement about natural origin (and to be fair it could be of natural origin and still have escaped from the lab) would proceed to never speak on the subject again rather than be upset about being deceived.

The real danger with not demanding answers from China and making them pay a price if they refuse to supply them, is that this could all happen again and the next novel virus that accidently escapes could kill hundreds of millions around the world.  IMO, the CCP needs to be told in no uncertain terms that if this "accident" happens again, the world will respond against them with WMDs of comparable effects.  They'll bluster and raise hell.  Let them.  THEY chose to allow this to go international and they are responsible, regardless of how this little plague was born.  

[Doc Socks Junior]

2 hours ago, OverSword said:

 

This should be easy to prove. Compensation to federal employees is rigid and well-documented.

Also, this is sort of funny:

Quote

According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan

I'd make a low confidence assessment that such was the case too. Heck, I'd assess many things at low confidence.

[+and-then]

30 minutes ago, Doc Socks Junior said:

Compensation to federal employees is rigid and well-documented.

IIRC, the term used was "incentivized".  Nice terminology, eh?  Most likely it wouldn't be a cash bonus that was so easily traceable.  Black budgets have been around for a VERY long time.  I find it hard to doubt a whistleblower in this current era of slash and burn politics in DC.  Those who stand up to corruption in their departments are generally slapped down and lose everything they've worked to build for retirement.  

[Katniss]

2 hours ago, and-then said:

there would still be a majority that would make excuses for them rather than admit they were wrong to believe the initial reports.  People absolutely loathe admitting they were wrong.

Ha! Just to let you know, you have the same problem. You have been wrong on other Covid-19 related issues and rather admit you were wrong on those issues, you still make excuses and peddle the same misinformation. I'm still waiting to die from Covid-19 vaccines that supposedly cause SADS. Yes, hypocrite much?

[+OverSword]

2 hours ago, and-then said:

The real danger with not demanding answers from China and making them pay a price if they refuse to supply them, is that this could all happen again and the next novel virus that accidently escapes could kill hundreds of millions around the world.  IMO, the CCP needs to be told in no uncertain terms that if this "accident" happens again, the world will respond against them with WMDs of comparable effects.  They'll bluster and raise hell.  Let them.  THEY chose to allow this to go international and they are responsible, regardless of how this little plague was born.  

Well I think you're skipping something here conspiracy-wise.  Why would the American based spy agency try to cover up for China?  Because the US are also involved.

[+OverSword]

1 hour ago, Doc Socks Junior said:

This should be easy to prove. Compensation to federal employees is rigid and well-documented.

 

CIA.  Remember them?  They funded operations in the 60's by smuggling heroine out of Laos.  

[Buzz_Light_Year]

12 minutes ago, OverSword said:

CIA.  Remember them?  They funded operations in the 60's by smuggling heroine out of Laos.  

Yeah I served with a Marine that claimed that he was stationed at a airbase in Laos that officially didn't exist and C-141's would fly in and park at the end of the runway away from everything else and get loaded with what he said were bales. The plane never delivered anything but loaded and departed without even refueling. Scuttlebutt on the base made the claim that it was a CIA spook plane as part of Air America.

Edited September 22 by Buzz_Light_Year

[Tatetopa]

“According to the whistleblower, at the end of its review, six of the seven members of the Team believed the intelligence and science were sufficient to make a low confidence assessment that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. The seventh member of the Team, who also happened to be the most senior, was the lone officer to believe COVID-19 originated through zoonosis. The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position,” wrote the Chairmen.  

Why do you think CIA operatives would be offered a cash incentive when a direct order would be sufficient?  What is a low confidence assessment? I hope they dig a little deeper.

International diplomacy is not about friends or morals, its about power.  What is the angle here?

 

[Doc Socks Junior]

27 minutes ago, Buzz_Light_Year said:

Yeah I served with a Marine that claimed that he was stationed at a airbase in Laos that officially didn't exist and C-141's would fly in and park at the end of the runway away from everything else and get loaded with what he said were bales. The plane never delivered anything but loaded and departed without even refueling. Scuttlebutt on the base made the claim that it was a CIA spook plane as part of Air America.

There was that documentary too. What was it, "Air America"?

[Doc Socks Junior]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

IIRC, the term used was "incentivized".  Nice terminology, eh?  Most likely it wouldn't be a cash bonus that was so easily traceable.  Black budgets have been around for a VERY long time.  I find it hard to doubt a whistleblower in this current era of slash and burn politics in DC.  Those who stand up to corruption in their departments are generally slapped down and lose everything they've worked to build for retirement.  

Well they stated it was monetary. Sure, maybe they were handing out bags of cash. Pretty hard to track those down. Lucky this guy was here to spot it. I don't see the angle of this from CIA perspective, though. Raising issues to justify increased activity re: China would seem to be more logical.

Probably depends a little on what the whistleblower is saying though, right?

[Doc Socks Junior]

47 minutes ago, OverSword said:

CIA.  Remember them?  They funded operations in the 60's by smuggling heroine out of Laos.  

Mel Gibson was involved if I recall correctly.

[Tatetopa]

3 hours ago, and-then said:

I think that even if the government itself came forward and said, "yeah, we lied and it began in Wuhan in the lab", there would still be a majority that would make excuses for them rather than admit they were wrong to believe the initial reports.  People absolutely loathe admitting they were wrong.  My opinion hasn't changed.  I don't care how or where this contagion began, the CCP intentionally weaponized it when they locked down their own country but let international flights continue.  

I'll stick with truth when I can find it.  Usually it doesn't have an R or D associated with it.  I wasn't an investigator, I don't have a dog in that fight or a cash bonus either.  I root for my country, not a team.  I can certainly credit that it came from a lab if that is what the evidence says. 

I will say this about international flights though.  CCP had a responsibility to alert other nations about what was going on.  If they had locked down all flights themselves, a lot of countries would assume they were looking at a hostage situation.  As witnessed by our own behavior, many countries would have evacuated their citizens infected or not.  Maybe we whiffed it to give ourselves time to prepare for a possible war, nuclear or trade as a consequence.  

[spartan max2]

51 minutes ago, Doc Socks Junior said:

Well they stated it was monetary. Sure, maybe they were handing out bags of cash. Pretty hard to track those down. Lucky this guy was here to spot it. I don't see the angle of this from CIA perspective, though. Raising issues to justify increased activity re: China would seem to be more logical.

Probably depends a little on what the whistleblower is saying though, right?

Even if you can't track on the governments end you would normally be able to track on the recipients end. Large deposits to bank accounts, stocks, new car, house. Something unless they never used it.

Edited September 23 by spartan max2

[+OverSword]

19 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

What is a low confidence assessment?

A low confidence assessment means no direct evidence but makes the most sense given known facts.

[+OverSword]

18 hours ago, Doc Socks Junior said:

Mel Gibson was involved if I recall correctly.

I have a friend that grew up in Vietnam the first seven years of his life. His father was in air america working for the CIA and then in Berlin until he graduated from American schools on military bases in Germany. Not on topic but an interesting anecdote 

[Doc Socks Junior]

39 minutes ago, OverSword said:

A low confidence assessment means no direct evidence but makes the most sense given known facts.

Or, according to the National Intelligence Council, it actually means:

Quote

Low confidence generally means questionable or implausible information was used, the information is too fragmented or poorly corroborated to make solid analytic inferences, or significant concerns or problems with sources existed.

 

[+and-then]

23 hours ago, OverSword said:

Well I think you're skipping something here conspiracy-wise.  Why would the American based spy agency try to cover up for China?  Because the US are also involved.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the permanent DC bureaucracy worked with the CCP to release this plague so Trump could be defeated.  I mean, the media certainly used it to attack him, daily and the CCP was getting hammered by him on trade so both of them benefitted.  What's a few million dead between friends?  I put NOTHING past the DC cabal when it comes to reaching for or retaining power.  That's why even though I'll vote for Trump, I have no doubt he will never be allowed to sit in that chair again.  DC will do WHATEVER IT TAKES.

[Doc Socks Junior]

3 minutes ago, and-then said:

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the permanent DC bureaucracy worked with the CCP to release this plague so Trump could be defeated.  I mean, the media certainly used it to attack him, daily and the CCP was getting hammered by him on trade so both of them benefitted.  What's a few million dead between friends?  I put NOTHING past the DC cabal when it comes to reaching for or retaining power.  That's why even though I'll vote for Trump, I have no doubt he will never be allowed to sit in that chair again.  DC will do WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Or, more Americans in more states believe that Trump is the wrong choice for president than believe he is the right choice. A little more plausible than an all-encompassing conspiracy theory like you've outlined. As in, it's already happened.

[+OverSword]

4 hours ago, Doc Socks Junior said:

Or, according to the National Intelligence Council, it actually means:

 

 

4 hours ago, Doc Socks Junior said:

Low confidence generally means questionable or implausible information was used, the information is too fragmented or poorly corroborated to make solid analytic inferences, or significant concerns or problems with sources existed.

Because it goes against the official line. 

[Doc Socks Junior]

40 minutes ago, OverSword said:

 

Because it goes against the official line. 

That's what it means in general, not just in this specific case.