Chris Wallace Challenges Pompeo: You 'Had Almost a Year' to Prove Lab Leak Theory

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace confronted former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday over the lack of hard evidence provided by the Trump administration to prove that COVID-19 originated from a Chinese lab, telling Pompeo he had “almost a year” to prove the theory.

With circumstantial evidence indicating that it is possible that the virus behind a worldwide pandemic could have leaked out of a lab in Wuhan, President Joe Biden has called for the intelligence community to “redouble” its probe into the origins of COVID-19.

The about-face on the credibility of the lab leak theory came in part after it was reported that Wuhan researchers were hospitalized with coronavirus-like symptoms in November 2019. Even top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, while still maintaining his belief that the virus likely jumped species in nature, says he cannot dismiss the possibility that it leaked from a lab, and supports further investigation.

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Pompeo—an early and loud proponent of the Wuhan lab leak theory—found himself pressed on what he personally did to gather enough evidence to support the claims.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/chris-wallace-challenges-pompeo-you-had-almost-a-year-to-prove-lab-leak-theory/ar-AAL008v

As I keep saying, what does it change if it leaked from a lab? The Trump misadministration still bungled the handling of the pandemic.

[Ocelot II]

1. The lab leak possibility doesn't change anything wrt the Trump administration's

inexcusable failure to handle the outbreak competently, but it's important to explore anyhow to learn more about how covid and other viruses are transmitted, and how lab safety protocols might have been violated or need to be improved, in order to prevent future pandemics.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

4. +1000 it still very much matters generally (nt)

[dawg day]

2. Pompeo was thinking....

But... but that would required me to do some work, rather than just grifting along with Trump!

[JohnSJ]

3. It is significant because trump willfully removed our observers who were there for such an event,

months before the pandemic, the only reason based on his previous actions was because of his hatred of President Obama. and he wanted to undo everything the Obama administration did and accomplished

Trump is a sociopath, and the Republican Party has embraced that

[brush]

5. Exactly this. This should be brought up everytime they start with...

the lab leak gambit. As if that's going to exonerate trump's colossal and inept bungling of the nation's pandemic response.

[JohnSJ]

7. and it never is brought up, and I wish the Democrats would do so

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Remember His Excuse?

His reason for the disbanding & recall was because "We can't pay people to sit around in case something happens."
A country with a GDP of >$20 trillion couldn't afford a few hundred grand to prevent catastrophe.
Not surprising for a guy who is so devoid of strategic thinking that he declared bankruptcy a half dozen times.
Oh, and had he just invested his daddy's "loans" & his inheritance, he would have been worth more than he pretended to be.
He not only knew nothing about governance, he knows nothing about business & finance.

[Johnny2X2X]

24. Exactly, a lab leak makes Trump look worse

We had early detection systems in place that he removed.

[JI7]

8. Why didn't Trump do anything to investigate it. And why did he claim it

was going to go away.

They are trying to push this to take attention away from their failures.

But their failures are even worse if you assume it was lab created by China.

[dflprincess]

9. Even if it turns out to be a lab leak

that won't mean it was developed in the lab. But we'll never convince the Trumpers of that.

[JohnnyRingo]

10. Pompeo was too busy running for Diet Cokes.

He didn't have time to do his job, let alone back up his propaganda.

[monkeyman1]

11. the blame alway's start's at the top & shit roll's down hill!!

[panader0]

13. It doesn't matter where the virus came from.

It only matters that it's here.
If a couple of people did a home invasion on your house, would you want to know where they were
born?

[Beaverhausen]

14. The trumpers want China to pay reparations

To all countries who suffered economically from the virus and lockdown.

[SoonerPride]

15. It doesn't matter where it came from

Lab leak.
Zoonotic transmission.
Aliens from the planet Gleepglorp.

What matters is what the administration did once they knew the pandemic was happening.

They delayed.
Lied.
Called it a hoax.
Obfuscated.
Lied.
Deflected.
Offered quack cure after quack cure.
Lied some more.

It is entirely inconsequential where it originated.

Really.

[keithbvadu2]

16. Pompeo, what can Biden do that you and Trump refused to do to get to the bottom of this?

Pompeo, what can Biden do that you and Trump refused to do to get to the bottom of this?

[Johonny]

17. A real president gets his facts then makes accusations on the world stage

a dumb ass makes accusations and never realizes he can literally get proof. Trump never bothered to look for answers because the truth doesn't matter to him.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. I distinctly remember lab supervisor on NPR early on.. She

sounded extremely credible. When she first heard, she was SO scared that it could have leaked she ran down to her lab and tried to match to any sequence they had and found nothing. She was so relieved. I'll always remember that.

[HariSeldon]

19. What changes is our oversight of this kind of lab

If they were engaged in gain-of-function research and this virus escaped, the US government can lead in creating oversight standards for this kind of research: required containment measures, international observers, mandated compliance overseers and procedures, etc.

It's not necessarily about placing blame; we need to do our best to see this doesn't happen again.

[Takket]

20. 'Wuhan researchers were hospitalized with coronavirus-like symptoms"

Which could have just been them catching it in public like everyone else did...

the lab leak theory was a lot more about politics than it was about science.

[SoonerPride]

21. This.

Exactly.

There is no there there.

[mainer]

26. It was already in Italy in November 2019.

The virus was already out in the wild and circulating in November. It probably got to Italy via Chinese tourists.

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-italy-timing/researchers-find-coronavirus-was-circulating-in-italy-earlier-than-thought-idUSKBN27W1J2

[station agent]

22. Trump told us gone by Easter after telling Woodward it "Goes through air, Bob"

Continuing: "That's always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch - you don't have to touch things, right? But the air, you just breathe the air. That's how it's passed. And so that's a very tricky one. That's a very delicate one. It's also more deadly than your - you know, your - even your strenuous flus."

[bucolic_frolic]

23. Chris Wallace gets high marks

[RANDYWILDMAN]

25. Pompeo is smart and his government career is all about deception

He figured out quickly, If I only work for myself, no one will ever notice and that is all he has ever done.

This man is the definition of self interest under the guise of faith

[monkeyman1]

27. the man has Cadillac idea's on a model -a budget !! that's why likes politics. ask the aid's