Chart of the Day: Why is the “Lab Leak” Theory Suddenly Becoming so Relevant?

Why, suddenly, is everyone talking about the Wuhan “Lab Leak” theory? Did some new information come out that proves the theory? Many thought this was an already known thing. Others said it was a wild, wacky conspiracy theory. But nevertheless, something has changed, and the story is popping up everywhere.

The US Energy Department has concluded that a “laboratory leak” most likely caused the Covid-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported, though National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said there is “not a definitive answer” on the virus’ genesis. Note that the Biden administration has yet been willing to release the report in full – see here. See Jake Sullivan in a recent television interview below.

So far, President Biden is avoiding the subject but has not outright rejected the “Lab Leak” theory idea – see here the press secretary’s response. Below is Biden answering the “Lab Leak” theory question in typical Biden fashion.

Interestingly enough, now the FBI Director Christopher Wray said that the COVID-19 pandemic “most likely” resulted from a potential “Lab Leak” in Wuhan, China, as the debate continues over the coronavirus’ origins. See Wray’s recent comments concerning the subject below.

Congress is rolling into action on the “Lab Leak” theory. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted that the US government had only belatedly “caught up to what Real America knew all along.” See Sen. (R-TX) Ted Cruz’s call for hearings on the responsibility of China to the rest of the world concerning Covid in the video below.

This has been a partisan issue, but even Left-wing pundits are starting to come on board with the idea as well. MSNBC anchor Mehdi Hasan tweeted that the original resistance to the theory was “because it was originally conflated by the right with ‘Chinese bio weapon’ conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies.”

When looking at Google Trends worldwide, the Wuhan “Lab Leak” story is off the charts, and interest in the story has spiked. See this in the Google Trends chart below.

The Chinees are scrambling to get on top of this issue as the implications are wide sweeping. A Chinese state-run newspaper issued a warning to Tesla CEO Elon Musk after he shared reporting on the US Department of Energy’s “low confidence” assessment that the global Covid pandemic originated in a Wuhan laboratory – learn more here.

CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reported the warning from the social media pages of the Global Times, the English-language subsidiary of the government-controlled People’s Daily. The Global Times warned Musk that he could be “breaking the pot of China” after the Tesla and Twitter CEO responded to tweets that asserted that the Covid pandemic originated in a Wuhan research laboratory. See her report in the video below.

So what is going on here? Why all of a sudden is this now coming to light? Currently, the two major issues (certainly there are others) now concerning China and the West are the following.

• Will China go in with Russia and start supplying Russia in the Ukraine conflict – something Antony Blinken warns China that there will be “consequences” if Beijing supplies weapons to Russia – see here.
• China continues to threaten Taiwan – China renews threat, warns Taiwan independence will be “punished” – see here.

The idea is that if China pushes forward on the above issues, the US may push forward on the “Lab Leak” theory in a tit-for-tat move. Obviously, China dismisses the idea of the “Lab Leak” theory – see here. If the “Lab Leak” theory gets legs, and China is blamed for even negligence in their management of the Wuahn laboratory, nations of the world may seek restitution. For example, to get China to pay restitution – why not cancel the nearly $1tr in Chinese US debt?

Is this the first shot over the bow to warn China? And what will China’s response be if pushed too far? Give us your take in the comment section below.

By Tom Williams