In response to inquiries, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has disclosed that it is currently examining allegations involving certain members of its team responsible for COVID-19 pandemic analysis. These allegations suggest that these team members received significant financial incentives in an attempt to alter their position on the virus's origin. It is important to note that the CIA has emphasized that its analysts are not remunerated to arrive at specific conclusions.

"At CIA we are committed to the highest standards of analytic rigour, integrity, and objectivity. We do not pay analysts to reach specific conclusions," CIA spokesperson Tammy Kupperman Thorp said in a statement to ABC News. "We take these allegations extremely seriously and are looking into them. We will keep our Congressional oversight committees appropriately informed."

The CIA's response and subsequent review have been prompted by assertions made in a recent letter sent to CIA Director Bill Burns by two Republican House chairmen. According to the letter, allegations have arisen from a whistleblower within the agency's current senior ranks.

This development adds another layer to the ongoing and unresolved contentious debate surrounding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also represents the latest installment in the ongoing efforts by the GOP to unearth evidence that suggests a possible conspiratorial cover-up regarding the pandemic's origins.

In a letter addressed to Director Burns, Republican House Chairmen Brad Wenstrup and Mike Turner revealed that a senior-level, current CIA officer with decades of experience has come forward, alleging a significant payoff. This disclosure appeared to catch their committee counterparts from the opposing party off guard.

"Neither the ranking member nor the Democratic staff for the Intelligence Committee were made aware of these allegations before the letters were sent. We have requested additional information," a spokesperson for the Democrats.

A spokesperson of Subcommittee Democrats said they "were given no prior notice of a whistleblower's existence, let alone testimony," adding that "without further information regarding this claim from the Majority, we have no ability to assess the allegations at this time."

As per the whistleblower, seven officers with substantial scientific expertise were part of a "COVID discovery team." Following their review, all but one member inclined towards a lab leak origin. However, the whistleblower alleges that they were offered a substantial monetary incentive to alter their stance.

"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 letter said.

"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 letter said. "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."

Earlier in June, the CIA and another agency couldn't conclusively determine COVID-19's origins due to conflicting reports and assumptions, as stated by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. While some agencies lean toward a lab incident, most reject the "gain-of-function" theory.

No definitive conclusion on COVID-19's origins has been reached by U.S. intelligence or international health organizations. House chairmen Wenstrup and Turner have requested related documents by September 26 and invited former CIA COO Andrew Makridis for an interview.

Image source: NY Times