Josh Hawley says 'accountability' is next after Biden signs COVID declassification bill
FOX NewsDec 06, 2022
Biden Orders COVID & Wuhan Lab Intel Release
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Image copyright: Evan Vucci/AP [via The New York Post]
The Facts
US Pres. Joe Biden signed off on legislation on Monday requiring the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information on any possible links between a Chinese lab and the origins of COVID.
The House approved the COVID origins bill on March 10, after the Senate passed it without opposition a week prior. Following a week of deliberation, Biden said in an official statement that he shares Congress's goal of releasing as much information as possible about COVID.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Ultimately, Biden has made the right call by passing this legislation. Though the bill may exacerbate tensions with China amid an already strained relationship between Biden and Xi Jinping, it is a sound move by the Democratic leader, who is dealing with stiff Republican resistance and endeavoring to scientifically determine how COVID came to be.
Republican narrative
Though this is, of course, good news, the next step must be holding the government and Biden admin. accountable for their poor response to this origin controversy. The American people deserve to hear what they knew about COVID in the early days and after. As the US intelligence committee continues to move toward the lab leak theory, the US will have to put even more pressure on China and the US bureaucracy for answers.
