Trump sharpens focus on China as target for blame

The Office of the DNI said the community “concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.”

The intelligence community has not yet reached a conclusion as to whether the virus originated in a wet market, through an animal carrying the virus, or through accidental escape from a government lab. An intelligence community official told the Washington Examiner, “We are actively and vigorously tracking down every piece of information we get on this topic, and we are writing frequently to update policymakers.”

“Agencies have not collectively agreed on any one theory,” the official added.

President Trump suggested Thursday evening that he had confidence that the virus originated in a Wuhan lab.

“We’re going to see where it comes from,” he said at the White House. “And, look, you know every theory, whether you had the theory from the lab, you had the theory from many different — the bats. The type of bat and the bat is 40 miles away, so it couldn’t have been here, and it couldn’t have been there.”

He continued, “There’s a lot of theories, but yeah, we have people looking at it very, very strongly. Scientific people, intelligence people, and others. We’re going to put it all together. I think we will have a very good answer eventually. And China might even tell us.”

Senate Intelligence Committee member Tom Cotton has subscribed to the theory that the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also suspected that the lab was involved in spreading the virus and has pushed the Chinese government to allow outside inspectors into the lab.

The White House also ordered intelligence agencies to investigate whether China and the World Health Organization worked together to hide early information about the coronavirus, according to NBC News. The National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency received instructions last week to comb through intercepted communications, satellite images, and human source reporting. The CIA received similar instructions.

Trump has floated placing penalties on China for its response to the coronavirus and told Reuters Wednesday, “I can do a lot,” in terms of consequences for Beijing. He added that the Chinese government “will do anything they can to have me lose this race.”

“They’re constantly using public relations to try to make it like they’re innocent parties,” Trump said.

China’s foreign ministry in Beijing, however, said the government has no intention of interfering in the 2020 presidential election.

Over 1 million coronavirus cases have been reported in the United States, and at least 62,860 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Trump on Thursday took aim at Sweden, which has stood apart from most other countries in its response to the pandemic by avoiding strict restrictions and has been touted by conservatives as a model to follow. He said Sweden is “paying heavily for its decision not to lockdown,” noting that far more people have died there than in neighboring countries. The country has reported over 21,000 cases and nearly 2,600 deaths.

The Department of Health and Human Services allocated $20 million, on top of the $200 million set aside in the $2 trillion CARES Act, to boost available telehealth services that people increasingly rely on as the coronavirus persists, requiring people to put off nonessential doctors’ appointments.

New claims for unemployment benefits totaled 3.8 million last week, surpassing the estimated figure by 300,000. The U.S. has lost 30 million jobs since the beginning of the pandemic.

Business groups called on Congress Thursday to expand the main small-business relief program, asking for funding to be made open-ended and for curbs to ensure that aid only goes to firms threatened by pandemic shutdowns.