Sen. Cotton Ramps Up Pressure on China, Urges It To Show Evidence COVID Wasn't Lab-Based
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton is calling for China to deliver any information about the origins of the coronavirus that disputes substantial evidence pointing to two laboratories in Wuhan as the source of the outbreak.
The Republican, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, appeared Tuesday on Fox News’ “American’s Newsroom” to discuss the evidence that goes against China’s narrative of the virus originating in a Wuhan seafood market.
“All the evidence at this point points to two labs in Wuhan,” Cotton told host Sandra Smith. “No evidence — and I mean no evidence at all — points to the seafood market in Wuhan.
“Now, all the evidence pointing to those labs — the fact that they use bats, that they research coronaviruses, that they have a history of bad safety practices, that the original persons infected with the virus had no contact with the food market — all of that is circumstantial evidence, to be sure. But in intelligence questions, we rarely get direct or conclusive evidence.”
He said all, not just some, of the evidence gathered “points directly at those labs.”
“If the Chinese Communist Party has evidence to the contrary, they need to bring it forward to the world,” the senator said.
Cotton made it clear that the current evidence does not suggest that the virus was created in the Wuhan labs, only that it spread from the labs.
Fox News reported in April that several sources who have been informed on the details of the matter have “increasing confidence” that the Chinese biolab was the source of the outbreak.
The same sources confirmed the virus was a naturally occurring strain, possibly being used in studies involving bat coronaviruses.
The source of the leak is still unknown, but theories suggest SARS-Cov-2, the virus that leads to COVID-19, was spread by a negligent employee’s clothes or skin, the report said.
Considering that the virus can survive on surfaces for two weeks or more, it would take only one minuscule mistake to overthrow the best safety measures.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed during a segment on the ABC News program “This Week” that the U.S. obtained “enormous evidence” once again that the virus started in a laboratory located in Wuhan.
Host Martha Raddatz asked him if he believed the numerous reports that the virus did not come from a wet market but rather a lab.
“Martha, there is enormous evidence that that’s where this began. We’ve said from the beginning that this was a virus that originated in Wuhan, China. We took a lot of grief for that from the outside, but I think the whole world can see now. Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories,” he answered.
With mounting contrary evidence and all of this pressure on China from top officials such as Cotton, Pompeo and President Donald Trump, will the communist leadership comply and produce information about the virus’ origin?
Judging by its historical obstinacy and secrecy, it’s not very likely.
But we cannot just take China’s word on this issue. Investigatory facts need to be the standard. The U.S. is backing claims with evidence, and now China is being called on to do the same.
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