The Pentagon late on Wednesday said an ABC News report that said a military intelligence unit wrote a report on the coronavirus in November is not accurate.
Col (Dr.) R. Shane Day, the director of the National Center for Medical Intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency, said in a statement that as a matter of practice, the NCMI does not comment publicly on specific intelligence matters. He said”
However, in the interest of transparency during this current public health crisis, we can confirm that media reporting about the existence/release of a National Center for Medical Intelligence Coronavirus-related product/assessment in November of 2019 is not correct. No such NCMI product exists.
A defense official added on background that the NCMI and the DIA spent considerable time over the last 24 hours examining every possible product that could have been identified as related to this topic and have found no such product.
The exclusive ABC News report, published Wednesday morning, said the NCMI warned the military and the White House about the spread of the virus in China as far back as late November:
As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China’s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting.
Grieving mothers scorch Dem lawmaker after he pivots during hearing to attack ‘MAGA Republicans’
Newsom PAC bought thousands of memoir copies about his hardships, juicing sales
Report: California Using Taxpayer Funds to Give Homeless Transgender Illegals Sex Changes
Iran Has ‘Agreed to Everything,’ Trump Says
Video shows teen snatched at bus stop – but victim slips SOS at gas station to escape repeat offender suspect
Utah leaders launch probe into Supreme Court justice over alleged relationship with redistricting lawyer
Texas AG sues Houston mayor and city council over new sanctuary city ordinance limiting ICE cooperation
Jury Awards $300,000 to Woman Who Drank 14 Tequila Shots on Carnival Cruise Ship
Judge Called Out Former Lt. Governor’s ‘Very Concerning’ Behavior Days Before He Killed His Wife
1 million bees swarm highway after crash shuts down interstate ramp for hours
DOJ shakes up lead prosecutor handling Brennan investigation in South Florida, sources say
Turkish grad student who co-authored anti-Israel op-ed at Tufts self-deports after legal battle with DHS
Harris blames Trump for rising gas prices — after once saying they’re the ‘price to pay for democracy’
Numerous House Republicans Band with Democrats to Block Trump’s Desired FISA Extension
Watch: ‘Not Really Religious’ Artemis II Cmdr. Reid Wiseman Broke Down in Tears After Flight When He Saw the Cross on Navy Chaplain’s Collar
ABC News’s report said concerns about what is now known to be the coronavirus pandemic “were detailed in a November intelligence report” by the NCMI, according to “two officials familiar with the document’s contents.”
It said the report analyzed “wire and computer intercepts, coupled with satellite images,” and raised alarms because an “out-of-control disease” would pose a serious threat to U.S. forces in Asia.
One of ABC News’s sources said analysts concluded it could be a “cataclysmic event” and that it was “then briefed multiple times” to the DIA, the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, and the White House.
The sources said there were repeated briefings through December for policy-makers and decision-makers across the federal government as well as the National Security Council at the White House.
Those briefings culminated with a detailed explanation of the problem that appeared in the President’s Daily Brief of intelligence matters in early January, the sources claimed.
ABC News said the NCMI report was made “available widely” to people authorized to access intelligence community alerts, and that after it was released, other intelligence community bulletins began circulating through confidential channels across the government around Thanksgiving.
Grieving mothers scorch Dem lawmaker after he pivots during hearing to attack ‘MAGA Republicans’
Newsom PAC bought thousands of memoir copies about his hardships, juicing sales
Report: California Using Taxpayer Funds to Give Homeless Transgender Illegals Sex Changes
Iran Has ‘Agreed to Everything,’ Trump Says
Video shows teen snatched at bus stop – but victim slips SOS at gas station to escape repeat offender suspect
Utah leaders launch probe into Supreme Court justice over alleged relationship with redistricting lawyer
Texas AG sues Houston mayor and city council over new sanctuary city ordinance limiting ICE cooperation
Jury Awards $300,000 to Woman Who Drank 14 Tequila Shots on Carnival Cruise Ship
Judge Called Out Former Lt. Governor’s ‘Very Concerning’ Behavior Days Before He Killed His Wife
1 million bees swarm highway after crash shuts down interstate ramp for hours
DOJ shakes up lead prosecutor handling Brennan investigation in South Florida, sources say
Turkish grad student who co-authored anti-Israel op-ed at Tufts self-deports after legal battle with DHS
Harris blames Trump for rising gas prices — after once saying they’re the ‘price to pay for democracy’
Numerous House Republicans Band with Democrats to Block Trump’s Desired FISA Extension
Watch: ‘Not Really Religious’ Artemis II Cmdr. Reid Wiseman Broke Down in Tears After Flight When He Saw the Cross on Navy Chaplain’s Collar
Esper was asked Sunday on ABC News’s This Week if the Pentagon received an intelligence assessment on the coronavirus in November. Esper said he did not recall, but that he would have known if such an assessment was briefed to the National Security Council in December.
“I’m not aware of that,” he said.
President Trump was also asked about the alleged report during a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, and when he learned of such intelligence and whether he could have acted sooner.
“When I learned about the gravity of it was sometime just prior to closing the country to China. And when we closed up the flights coming in from China and various other elements — and then, as you know, we closed up to Europe,” he said.
“So, I don’t know exactly, but I’d like to see the information,” he said.
Story cited here.
