Pompeo claims 'enormous evidence' that virus came from Wuhan lab

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Post

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that “enormous evidence” indicates that the covid-19 virus originated at a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

“Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories,” Pompeo said on ABC News’s “This Week.” “These are not the first times that we’ve had a world exposed to viruses as the result of failures in a Chinese lab.”

The U.S. intelligence community declined last week to specify the origin of the virus, saying it would “continue to examine” whether the outbreak began with an accident at the lab or through human contact with infected animals being sold at a public market.

Pompeo’s comments echoed those of Trump, who said he has seen evidence giving him a “high degree of confidence” that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was studying the presence of the virus in bats.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/05/03/coronavirus-latest-news/#link-3EUBU3NAXNCRZGQI4ECNVPQB6Y

[Sudsy]

1. Of Course it did,

and Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.

[agingdem]

5. but wait

what about the trump nazi sycophants calling it the Jewhan flu..these are tough times for all the white assholes like Pompeo...I guess the Chinese 'grew it" and we Jews delivered it via the United State Postal Service...and Amazon

[Canoe52]

13. Tubes, don't forget they had tubes! Somewhere near Baghdad!

[Bengus81]

36. And...the next cloud you see might just be a MUSHROOM cloud!!!!!

Oh SHIT Dubya, by all means blow trillions of tax payer $$$ on no bid contracts to Halliburton and other shady fuckers and get thousands and thousands killed.

No thinking person believes any of their shit anymore. Bush overplayed the BS.

[delisen]

14. Doesn't matter. Trump was unprepared and denied urgency

Playing golf, watching tv, and not prepared to defend the USA- and then working against the survival of those on the front lines and all the rest of us.

[Bengus81]

35. And Yellow Cake!!!!

***GASP!!!!***

[Newest Reality]

2. Gee,

I haven't read anything from actual experts on the subject that would justify that high degree of confidence.

Oh, wait, General Cockwomble WANTS to be so. Freaking syophants.

[Botany]

3. Oh is this from Trump's 'enormous evidence' that he can't talk about?

Now why would anybody believe those lying shits? Goebbels meets Pravada.

President Donald Trump on Thursday said — without offering any evidence — that he has a high degree of confidence that the coronavirus outbreak originated from a laboratory in China.

“I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that,” Trump said at a White House event
when asked what evidence he has seen to make him believe that the virus emerged from
the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.


https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/30/coronavirus-trump-suspects-covid-19-came-from-china-lab.html

[delisen]

15. He claims total power and suddenly not allowed to talk?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Yes, US Intell community was forced to say that there is no evidence of lab-made origins.

[Lock him up.]

41. The criminal orange virus also has a high degree of confidence that...

SARS-CoV-2 can be killed by injecting disinfectant with a pin prick.

He's the con-man in con-fidence with tens of thousands documented LIES without evidence.

[Marthe48]

4. not content with plague and famine

they foment war

[PatSeg]

6. These people are shameless in their deceit

They don't even try to sound credible.

[Mc Mike]

7. Yuge?

[ancianita]

8. Enormous fabricated evidence.

Fabricated evidence will be the story of the entire summer and October surprise.

That's why he's been in the background behind the Trump iron curtain, getting the legal wording just right, and all the fabricated evidence sequenced just right.

Chaos is coming at all levels. The law and the science will rise above it.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. What we have here is Pompeo twisting himself into pretzel shapes to defend Trump's lies.

Trump has called it the "China virus" too often and can't bring himself to admit he was wrong.

[luvtheGWN]

31. Did anyone think to ask:

"Where is the evidence"?

"Show us the evidence".

No, I guess not

[Arkansas Granny]

34. That's a rhetorical question, right?

[mjvpi]

46. I agree with what you are saying.....

But it made me laugh wondering if Pompeo can even touch his toes, let alone going for a full pretzel.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. MF45 must have his hands full with so many lap dogs.

[moonseller66]

24. "Pee"45...

enjoys watching his lapdogs around his bed with one leg "extended."

Maybe even ON the Bed as he watches.

[Budi]

11. Vektor Labs is the new incarnation of a Soviet bioweapons facility

Not so fast Pompeo. Appears Russia is running some failed labs as well

Pompeo: "China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories,” Pompeo said on ABC News’s “This Week.”
“These are not the first times that we’ve had a world exposed to viruses as the result of failures in a Chinese lab.”
EXCEPT MAYBE VEKTOR BIOLAB, Koltsovo, Siberia
______________________________


*Sept 2019

An Explosion Rocked a Russian Pathogen Lab That Stores Ebola, Smallpox


SNIP
An Explosion Rocked a Russian Pathogen Lab That Stores Ebola, Smallpox
The incident highlights the risks of researching and storing lethal pathogens.

The Vektor center was, during the Cold War, one of the Soviet Union’s biological weapons research facilities. Today, the facility studies the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pathogens.
At the time of the fire, Vektor still housed the world’s largest collection of viruses, including samples of Ebola and smallpox. Though no super plague was unleashed today, the fire highlights the dangers of storing deadly pathogens.

SNIP

In 2014, the CDC published a report that found it had improperly sent deadly pathogens to different labs five times in the preceding decade.
The incidents involved samples of anthrax DNA, the bacteria responsible for botulism, samples of Bird Flu, and a “highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 influenza” that had contaminated a relatively safe flu virus sample, according to the CDC.

The Vektor center itself has a history with deadly accidents. In 2004, Vektor researcher Antonia Presnyakova died after she accidentally injected herself with Ebola while conducting research
More at link..

"Also, RU was a participant in the World Military Games held in Wuhan in Oct 2019.

Think a special version of the Olympics for soldiers."
_______________________

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[FarPoint]

12. I'm sensing other countries like in Europe.

They are NOT claiming this tRump propaganda

[Maxheader]

27. Good point..

They only pay attention to dementia boy when it starts talking trade embargo's..

One of these days, some hot shot captain of a chinese cruise missile ship is gonna

take a shot at those navy vessels stumpy is telling to press the south china seas boundary...

[Budi]

29. K & R Everything he does is a set up for his next disaster

Set up & cover up with another distraction.

[Chainfire]

16. Of course

I believe everything that comes out of this administration, without them needing for them to post their sources. If it is such a big freaking secret, they would not be discussing it and compromising their sources anyway.

Pompeo probably lies to himself when he is shaving just to stay in practice.

The bottom line is this: Even if it escaped from a lab in China, it does not mitigate the fact that Trump blew the reaction to the virus, resulting in a far worse medical and economic crisis than it should have been in this country. And that after he had plenty of warning. China did not make him say it was a hoax, China did not gut our budgets, so I don't see the point of the Administration's tone.

Scientist around the world say that this virus has not been modified. I do believe them. It certainly was not developed as a weapon and then tried on Wuhan first. They would have used Pakistan or Afghanistan for that.....

The fact of life in the advancement of medical science is that dangerous work takes place in labs. The people who work in labs are not any more perfect than the rest of us. Accidents are going to happen. When has any government ever admitted that they had a research laboratory accident? Every year, I have to deal with Love Bugs that escaped from a laboratory at the University of Florida many years ago, so I know that if China accidentally let the virus out they weren't covering any virgin territory. Of course, if it was a laboratory failure, it would be nice if the Chinese shared the details with us as a teaching tool, but they are unlikely to admit a failure.

This whole issue is just more smoke and mirrors for Trump to try to place the blame for his failures elsewhere. He is grasping at straws to stop from drowning in November.

[Roy Rolling]

17. Another Slam at Intelligence

Both the national security apparatus and insulting to our intelligence individually.

Its not like this guy’s just dim, Trump’s a black hole of intelligence sucking to oblivion any enlightenment that strays within reach.

Moral of the story? Don’t get close enough so he can grab your.

Intelligence.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. Yes. tRump trusted China & WHO and rejected US Intelligence. He can't have it both ways. . . . nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Distraction. tRump failed to defend US lives. Regardless of origin. Europe src of most US hotspots.

Europe was the source of most US hotspots, especially New York state.

This is made clear by mutation strains tracked by NextStrain with animation of incoming vectors: https://nextstrain.org/ncov/global?d=map&dmax=2020-04-20&dmin=2019-12-26&m=div&p=full

[LiberalFighter]

21. Enormous as in his butt?

[moonseller66]

22. Wuhan! Wuhan! Wuh...I mean...Benghazi! Benghazi! Benghazi!

Remember Folks, this is one of the fools on the Benghazi probe who KNEW Hillary was lying and hiding things and he and the other Depublicans went to enormous lengths and time and great expense to prove...oh, wait. There was no conspiracy.

If at first you don't succeed...try again with different bullshit.

Enough deflection and distraction from The Dumper's Fuck ups!

Hey Dump? Put up or shut the fuck up! PUOSTFU!

These are 7 Benghazi "Investigators" who pursed the Democrats they accused of lying. And now...

Trey Gowdy
Lynn Westmoreland
Peter Roskam

And still in government today and acting as they did in 2013:

Martha Roby
Susan Brooks
Jim "Jacketoff" Jordan

and, surprise!
Mike Pompeo

What a waste of Politicial Positions...not to mention humanity.

[Turbineguy]

23. It matters little where it came from.

Trump allowed it by breaking down the system of prevention and control.

[Worried2020]

25. And we should believe that - why, exactly?

USA lost it's credibility decades ago . . .

W

[Grokenstein]

26. "I got this totally awesome evidence" is the new Canadian Girlfriend.

...or the investigative team returning from Hawaii any day now.
Totally real, but isn't around here so can't be shown to anyone.
You'll just have to trust us!
You can, you know! Have we ever lied to you before?

So...what's the point of this?
Trying to stir up the redhats against Asians for the sake of reelection?
Shifting the blame for the maladministration's incompetent response?

[LudwigPastorius]

28. I wouldn't trust that fucker if he said the ocean is wet.

Pompeo is a scum sucking opportunist...a human remora, firmly attached to Trump's gigantic, pasty ass.

[jimlup]

30. Pompeo is a pompous ass

but we all already knew that!

[CountMyVote4Reality]

32. What a laugh. Good one, Pompey.

In other words, he has no credibility and can't be taken seriously.

[eezapata]

33. it might be true

but after so many lies from this administration is hard to believe anything they say anymore 0;

[RainCaster]

37. Intelligence and the GOP are contradictory

Take that any way you want

[Talitha]

38. We're supposed to believe one of shitler's flying monkeys?

[Marrah_Goodman]

39. He is a liar like his boss

I believe the WHO over those assholes.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

40. Pulled out of Trump's and his enormous asses.

[Joinfortmill]

42. This appears to be false and makes it even worse for Trump.

[DallasNE]

43. Curveball II?

No supporting evidence. Just an unreliable source - Pompeo spouting off.

[BadGimp]

44. This is some of most straight up dangerous shit for a US SOS to spew...

" “Remember, China has a history of infecting the world, and they have a history of running substandard laboratories,” Pompeo said on ABC News’s “This Week.” “These are not the first times that we’ve had a world exposed to viruses as the result of failures in a Chinese lab.” "

I do not see good things in our future as far as geopolitical relations with China go.

But maybe I'm just overreacting a bit...

[Grasswire2]

50. Remember too that Pompeo is an end-times Xian Dominionist wacko.

And so facilitating the RAPTURE is his primary motivation -- whatever it takes.

[AntiFascist]

45. What they're NOT telling you...

The lab was partially funded by the US government.:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2020/04/14/the-washington-post-goes-rogue-china-lab-in-focus-of-coronavirus-outbreak/#6b4b3ef31ee1

Worth noting, at least one young researcher from the lab —Huang Yanling — a graduate student rumored to be patient zero — was scrubbed from the lab’s website.
…
The U.S. government helped build and fund Wuhan virology labs. The thinking was that it was important for China to get up to par in the global life sciences. It was already a known center of previous outbreaks. Investing there and educating them on international safety standards was just preventative medicine.

The lab has strong ties to the University of Texas Galveston National Laboratory which was responsible for training and certifying safety procedures and personnel:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-probes-university-of-texas-links-to-chinese-lab-scrutinized-over-coronavirus-11588325401
The request for records of gifts or contracts from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its researcher Shi Zhengli, known for her work on bats, is part of a broader department investigation into possible faulty financial disclosures of foreign money by the Texas group of universities.
...

The lab has established a patent on remdesivir. Shi Zhengli (leading researcher on bat coronaviruses at the lab) co-authored a paper on the use of remdesivir and chloroquine in treating the novel coronavirus:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7054408/


Treatments were likely being developed under a controversial and dangerous program employing “gain-of-function” techniques where viruses are made more dangerous through mutations by passing them from one animal to the next (NOT involving genetic manipulation or gene splicing).

https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-backed-controversial-wuhan-lab-millions-us-dollars-risky-coronavirus-research-1500741

The Obama Administration even placed a temporary moratorium on this research, calling for greater guidance and debate over the risks.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/10/us-halts-funding-new-risky-virus-studies-calls-voluntary-moratorium

The more you know….

[soryang]

48. So the accomplice blames the principal or...

...is it the other way around?

Blaming China cuts both ways. Great post.

[SansACause]

47. Does it really matter where it came from?

This is like calling HIV the "African virus." Or SARS the "Canadian virus." Or MERS the "Saudi Arabian virus." Once they're loose, they're loose. I get that this is a stupid political stunt, but it's not going to solve or prevent anything.

[Grasswire2]

49. Someone ask Pompeo if he remembers the CADET HONOR OATH he took at West Point.

Top of his class!!


"A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do."

[The Magistrate]

51. Australia's Intelligence Agencies Have A Very Low Opinion If This 'Evidence', Sir

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australian-intelligence-knocks-back-us-government-s-wuhan-lab-virus-claim-20200504-p54pk3.html


Multiple senior intelligence sources who spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in recent days have confirmed that Australia has still not been provided with any evidence that strongly suggests the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak.


Senior members of the Australian intelligence community told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age a research document shared in political circles under the Five Eyes intelligence arrangement was mostly based on news reports and contained no material from intelligence gathering.

A 15-page "dossier" has been widely quoted by local and international media about China's alleged cover-up of the virus. Australian intelligence officials have since identified a research report which was based entirely on open source material. The officials said it was likely the reports were the same.


It is easy to suppose what the 'open sources' are....