NEW: Did virus leak from a lab in China? Trump aides press spy agencies for a link — but analysts say they likely won’t find proof. Some worry about potential intel distortion. Trump wants focus on China. w/ @MarkMazzettiNYT @julianbarnes @adamgoldmanNYT. nytimes.com/2020/04/30/us/…
2. Trump officials are trying to find proof for the lab theory — which many scientists & some intel analysts say is unlikely — when there is obvious info on how Chinese officials covered up failures on virus. Earlier @nytimes story by @stevenleemyers: nytimes.com/2020/03/29/wor…
3. @SecPompeo has taken the lead in asking intel agencies. Pottinger has done the same on occasion. Ruggiero got frustrated at CIA during video meeting in January. Grenell convened an April 7 review to see if intel agencies could reach consensus on virus origins. They could not.
4. A former intelligence official said the repeated emphasis of the lab theory by Trump aides was “conclusion shopping,” a disparaging term among analysts. It has echoes of the Bush administration’s 2002 push for assessments saying Saddam Hussein had WMDs and ties to Al Qaeda.
5. In late March, intel officials presented info to White House that led some career officials to reconsider lab theory. The info was based in part on intercepted communications among Chinese officials, but doesn't prove anything. The intel agencies say they have nothing solid.
6. Trump campaign aides & Republican politicians aim to focus on China for Nov. elections, mainly to deflect from administration failures on the virus. More than 60,000 Americans have died. Trump talks about an "investigation" into China & reparations — pushed by @mikepillsbury.
7. On Thursday evening, after our story appeared, Trump was asked about the lab leak theory. He suggested there was evidence, then backtracked. "There’s a lot of theories, but we have people looking at it very, very strongly. Scientific people, intelligence people and others.”
