Chris Cuomo falsely claims US gov 'had not been open to the lab theory' after he reported it last year
The CNN anchor claimed in April 2020 that the lab leak theory was a 'story to watch'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CNN anchor Chris Cuomo falsely told his viewers on Wednesday night that the US government had never taken the theory that the coronavirus originated from a Wuhan lab leak in China seriously.
Cuomo suggested that the leak theory is a "newer notion" than the previous theory that the virus jumped from animal to human after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. intelligence believes at least three Wuhan scientists were hospitalized with COVID-like symptoms back in November 2019.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The government had not been open to the lab theory," Cuomo alleged. "That is why it's so politically charged…Trumpers who were complicit in playing down the pandemic reality in America are now seeing more interest in the China lab theory as some kind of vindication, enough to play ‘I told you so’ with Fauci."
However, as NewsBusters news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro pointed out, Cuomo himself reported the "breaking news" about the lab leak theory back in April 2020.
"Alright, we have breaking news on our watch. It is a very provocative headline," Cuomo warned viewers at the time. "Here's the headline: The United States is pursuing the theory that the virus started in a Chinese lab, not a market. I know the internet is rife with conspiracy theories and concerns that this was something that was worked on… and part of the curiosity is we don't know a lot because somebody changed a virus structure enough to make it a mystery for us."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CHRIS CUOMO AND HIS PROBLEMATIC YEAR AT CNN
The CNN anchor stresses that the government was "investigating" the theory, which he said "isn't as strong" as they "believe" the theory.
"This is a story to watch," Cuomo later added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Critics slammed the "Cuomo Prime Time" host for the falsehood on social media.
"Totally false by Cuomo — ODNI said in *April 2020* that 'the IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging info & intel to determine whether the outbreak began thru contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a lab in Wuhan,'" Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy reacted.
"@ChrisCuomo is lying," National Review contributor Pradheep J. Shanker exclaimed. "This would matter to a responsible journalistic outfit, but thankfully for Cuomo, he works for CNN."
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On Tuesday, Cuomo suggested that the "political right" had obsessed over the origins of COVID in order to "forward an agenda."
"Why? Because the more that this is about China being sneaky, the less it is about our leadership failing under Trump," the CNN anchor claimed.