INVESTIGATION WITH OPEN
TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION BE
MADE AVAILABLE TO SCRUTINIZE.
>> JOINING ME NOW IS KRISTEN WELKER AND THE CO-ANCHOR OF
WELKER AND THE CO-ANCHOR OF
WEEKEND TODAY.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED IN THE LAST
FEW MINUTES ABOUT THE POSSIBLE
ORIGINS OF THE VIRUS?
>> WE ARE JUST GETTING A NEW
STATEMENT.
LET ME READ IT.
U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY DOES
NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHERE, WHEN OR
HOW THE COVID-19 VIRUS WAS
TRANSMITTED INITIALLY BUT IS
COALESCED AMONG TWO LIKELY
SCENARIOS.
EITHER IT EMERGED NATURALLY FROM
HUMAN CONTACT WITH ANIMALS OR
WAS A LABORATORY ACTIVATED.
THATS WHAT WE HEARD FROM
PRESIDENT BIDEN.
HE HAS ORDERED A 90-DAY REVIEW
TO DETERMINE WHERE THIS VIRUS
OCCURRED.
I TALKED TO AN OFFICIAL WHO SHED
LIGHT ON THE TIMING OF THIS.
A LOT OF QUESTIONS WHY NOW IS
THE PRESIDENT LIGHTING A FIRE ON
THIS.
WHY NOT ON HIS FIRST DAY IN
OFFICE.
I WAS TOLD FROM SOURCES FAMILIAR
WITH THE MATTER, THAT THE
PRESIDENT RECEIVED HIS BRIEF
SEVERAL WEEKS AGO THAT HAD AN
UPDATE TO THE INVESTIGATION IN
MARCH.
HE DID ORDER A REVIEW OF THE
ORIGIN.
IT WAS WHAT HE SAW IN THAT AND
BRIEFED ON THAT LED HIM TO ASK
THAT INFORMATION BE DECLASSIFIED
TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.
WHILE THAT WAS HAPPENING,
YESTERDAY -- OR A FEW DAYS
AGO -- CHINA CAME OUT AND SAID
IT WAS NOT GOING TO PARTICIPATE
IN PHASE TWO OF THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATIONS INVESTIGATION.
SO ALL OF THESE EVENTS COALESCED
TO FORM THE STATEMENT YESTERDAY.
PRESIDENT BIDEN SAYING HE WANTS
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THESE
TWO THEORIES EMERGING.
>> THANK YOU FOR THAT BREAKING
NEWS.
AND JOINING ME IS A MEMBER OF
BIDENS COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US
TODAY.
I WANT TO ADD THERE IS ANOTHER
LINE IN THE STATEMENT KRISTEN
JUST READ FROM.
THIS IS FROM THE OIDI.
THEY SAID THOSE IN THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY DONT
THINK THERE IS SUFFICIENT
EVIDENCE TO ASSESS WHETHER IT IS
MORE LIKELY IT WAS A NATURAL
OCCURRENCE OR LABORATORY
ACCIDENT.
WHAT IS YOUR SENSE OF HOW THIS
HAPPENED?
>> EVERYONE IS BEING HONEST.
WE DONT KNOW.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS CHINA
HASNT BEEN COMPLETELY
TRANSPARENT WITH ALL OF THE DATA
INCLUDING THE BLOOD SAMPLES FROM
THE PEOPLE IN THE WUHAN
INSTITUTE WHO GOT SICK EARLY IN
NOVEMBER.
WE NEED ALL OF THE DATA AND
TRANSPARENCY.
WE NEED CHINA TO PARTICIPATE
BECAUSE THE REAL ISSUE IS NOT
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN, THE REAL
ISSUE IS HOW DO WE PROTECT
OURSELVES FROM THE NEXT PANDEMIC
AND HOW DO WE HAVE AN EARLY
WARNING SYSTEM WHETHER ITS
NATURALLY OCCURRING OR A
LABORATORY LEAK.
WE NEED TO PROTECT OURSELVES SO
WE DONT HAVE 3, 4, 5, 10
MILLION PEOPLE DIE
UNNECESSARILY.
>> WHAT IS THE LIKELIHOOD THE
CHINESE ARE WILLING TO
COOPERATE?
THEY HAVENT SHOWN A WILLINGNESS
TO GET IN.
THE W.H.O. WAS BLOCKED.
WE HAD A HARD TIME GETTING
PEOPLE ON THE GROUND IN THE
BEGINNING.
WHY WOULD THAT CHANGE NOW?
>> I THINK YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS
IN THE GLOBAL CONFLICT BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA.
IT IS A BATTLE ABOUT SOFT POWER
AND INFLUENCE RELATED TO OTHER
COUNTRIES.
THE CHINESE HAVE SAID THAT THEY
PUT OUT THE SEQUENCE OF THE
VIRUS EARLY SO PEOPLE COULD
BEGIN WORKING ON VACCINES.
THEY HAVE BEEN SHARING VACCINES.
THIS IS ALL PART OF A GLOBAL
STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES AND CHINA WHERE COVID IS
A MAJOR ISSUE.
SO I THINK THATS PART OF WHAT
IS GOING ON.
PUTTING PRESSURE ON THEM, NOT
JUST THE UNITED STATES, BUT
OTHER COUNTRIES IS GOING TO BE
IMPORTANT THAT WE REALLY ALL
NEED TO KNOW.
THEY DID PARTICIPATE IN THE
FIRST PHASE OF THE W.H.O.
PROPOSAL, BUT THEY DIDNT
RELEASE ALL OF THE DATA.
THAT REALLY HAS TO BE PART OF
WHAT HAPPENS GOING FORWARD.
>> SO YOU WERE PART OF THE BIDEN
TRANSITION TEAM.
A LOT OF THIS HAS EVOLVED IN THE
SIX MONTHS WE HAVE BEEN IN THE
BIDEN
BIDEN PRESIDENCY.
HOW DID YOU CHANGE THE WAY THE
ADMINISTRATION WAS GOING TO
APPROACH IT COMPARED TO WHAT THE
TRUMP TEAM WAS DOING?
>> WELL, I THINK -- AGAIN, THE
WATCH WORD WAS LET SCIENCE RULE
HERE AND LET THE SCIENTISTS TRY
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS
WITH HELP FROM THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY.
THAT WAS THE GOAL.
OUR FOCUS WAS ON DEALING WITH
THE CURRENT CRISIS AND MAKING
SURE THAT THE VACCINE ROLLOUT
WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, THAT WE HAD
GOOD SURVEILLANCE FOR ANY
VARIANTS AND ANTICIPATING THE
POST COVID PANDEMIC, HOW ARE WE
GOING TO PREPARE TO PREVENT AND
MINIMIZE THE NEXT PANDEMIC.
THE ORIGINS OF THIS VIRUS WERE
LESS THE FOCUS OF THIS.
THERE WAS A GENERAL AGREEMENT WE
WOULD NEED A STUDY AND WOULD
WANT AN INDEPENDENT STUDY BY THE
W.H.O. AND UNITED STATES
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
BUT THAT IS A SECONDARY
QUESTION.
THE PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTION IS
GOING FORWARD, WHAT ARE WE GOING
TO DO TO PREVENT ANYTHING LIKE