Exhibit 1073 ยท Declassified intelligence assessment
Updated Assessment on COVID-19 Origins
All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident.
Key Takeaways: the IC judges the virus was not developed as a biological weapon; most agencies assess with low confidence that it probably was not genetically engineered (two agencies say evidence is insufficient); four IC elements and the National Intelligence Council assess with low confidence a natural origin; one element assesses with moderate confidence a laboratory-associated incident; the rest cannot choose. Both hypotheses are plausible to all agencies.
- Source
- Office of the Director of National Intelligence
- Date
- 29 October 2021 (information through August 2021)
- Quoted from
- Key Takeaways, p. 1, second paragraph
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Declassified-Assessment-on-COVID-19-Origins.pdf
- Accessed
- 2026-11-10
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- Same page, label-correct side: 'We judge the virus was not developed as a biological weapon. Most agencies also assess with low confidence that SARS-CoV-2 probably was not genetically engineered; however, two agencies believe there was not sufficient evidence to make an assessment either way.' PDF creation date 29 October 2021; later agency assessments (FBI, DOE 2023; CIA January 2025) not read in primary form, see Gaps.