Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested on Tuesday night that denial of the lab leak theory was a tool to discredit former President Donald Trump and a way for scientists to hide their ties with the Wuhan lab.
The story: Grahan discussed the massive change in stance on the theory that the virus might have come from a lab in Wuhan, China during an appearance on Fox News. He specifically referred to a statement issued in February last year that dismissed the lab leak theory.
That statement was signed by 27 scientists and published in the British medical journal The Lancet. It claimed that the coronavirus did not originate in the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China and that the virus has a zoonotic source.
“We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin … Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors, and prejudice that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against this virus,” read the statement, which was signed by 27 scientists.
However, the theory that the virus came from a lab has since gained momentum.
Graham also referenced a recent report from Vanity Fair which said the statement in The Lancet was organized by Peter Daszak, the president of EcoHealth Alliance, which had sent federal grant money from the National Institutes of Health to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
What he said: Graham called the statement from the scientist a political document” that was meant to shame individuals who painted the lab leak theory as viable. The majority of those who said a lab leak was a possibility were Republicans, including Trump and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
“In other words, 27 scientists signed a political document shaming Cotton and Trump and anyone else, shutting them up,” Graham told Fox News’s “Hannity.” “This is the Russia dossier all over again. This stinks to high heaven. This is lab-gate, China-gate, call it whatever you want to call it.”
The South Carolina Senator took aim at the media, which dismissed the lab leak theory as a “fringe” and “conspiracy” theory,” and argued that the scientists were trying to hide the role they played in funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“The media took it and ran, and it changed the course of the election,” Graham told host Sean Hannity. “Why? Because number one, the scientists are tied to this lab. They were covering their ass. They put out a letter not based on science, but a political document trying to destroy the credibility of people who suggested it came out of a lab.”
“If Trump was right about the lab leak it would change the image the public had of Trump regarding the coronavirus. More importantly, if it came out of the lab in China, he was right it was the China virus, and the 2020 election would have been about who could hold China accountable, Trump or Biden. Who would you want in the room to hold China accountable for infecting the world with coronavirus?” Graham said.
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