NSA Sullivan: 90-Day COVID Origin Review ‘Will Give Us Some More Clarity’ – Need to Continue ‘Public Pressure’ for Transparency from China

On Friday’s “CBS This Morning,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that the 90-day intelligence review on the origins of COVID-19 ordered by President Joe Biden will provide “some more clarity” and we ultimately need access to China, which requires us “to continue to raise the public pressure and do so in a concerted way with allies and partners.”

Sullivan said, “Well, there are two facets to this. One facet is the intelligence community analysis that President Biden asked our intelligence experts to undertake, that’s a 90-day review where we are scrubbing everything we have in terms of our intelligence and where we’re reaching out to allies and partners around the world. That will give us some more clarity. The second facet is what you’re describing, which is ultimately, we need access and the international community needs access to China to be able to get that initial data that will tell us the most about where this virus came from and how it entered into the world. And you’re right, so far China has said, no, we won’t allow that. But we just can’t take the no lying down. We have to continue to raise the public pressure and do so in a concerted way with allies and partners. And that’s why it was so important that at the G7 the world’s democracies came together to insist on a phase-two investigation in China of the origins of COVID-19.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett