Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Psaki says Covid origin report will be delivered on Tuesday, followed by several days to create public report

The president commissioned the report in May.

Eric Garcia
Monday 23 August 2021 21:25 BST
Comments
(EPA)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the deadline for an intelligence community report on the origins of the novel coronavirus is on Tuesday, after which officials will take several days to prepare an unclassified summary for the public.=

Mr Biden asked the intelligence community in May to collect and analyse information to learn the origins of the virus within 90 days, including whether it was leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Plenty of Republicans have touted the theory as a definitive conclusion on the origins of the virus remains outstanding.

“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” Mr Biden said in May.

A reporter asked Ms Psaki if she had any update on when the report was due.

“It typically takes a couple of days, if not longer, to put together an unclassified version to present publicly and obviously the president would be briefed first on any findings,” Ms Psaki said.

Ms Psaki said she did not have a precise date but said it would take a couple to several days to create the unclassified version.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in