Overview
- James Erdman III, a senior CIA operations officer, told senators Wednesday that agency scientists repeatedly judged a lab accident the most likely origin of COVID‑19 from 2021 to 2023, then saw a late rewrite change the conclusion to a non‑committal line that broke with the CIA’s usual practice of stating a judgment with a confidence level.
- Erdman alleged Dr. Anthony Fauci steered the intelligence community to outside experts who favored a natural‑origin view, including through the Biological Sciences Experts Group that advises analysts on bio threats.
- The CIA blasted the hearing as “dishonest political theater,” said the committee had already taken Erdman’s closed‑door testimony, and reiterated its current public view that a lab leak is more likely, though with limited confidence.
- No Senate Democrats attended the session, and several Republicans renewed calls to prosecute Fauci after a related statute‑of‑limitations window for some potential charges closed Monday.
- Erdman said the CIA obstructed oversight by monitoring investigators’ devices, blocking records, and firing a contractor a day after an interview, while thousands of pages tied to COVID‑origin intelligence remain under review despite a 2023 declassification law and broad subpoenas.