Wednesday’s edition of Fox News Channel’s Special Report led with a bombshell report on the origins of the COVID-19 virus. The revelation strongly suggests that the virus did escape from the Wuhan Institute of Virology like many conservatives have pointed out from almost the beginning. The “big three” evening news broadcasts ignored this news unsurprisingly.
By contrast, ABC’s World News Tonight and CBS Evening News led with the weather while NBC Nightly News decided to hyperventilate over the indictment of the good samaritan Daniel Penny who subdued the violent felon on a New York City subway and prevented a possible violent incident.
“Tonight we have a compelling new report on the origins of COVID. It details strong new evidence suggesting the virus did, in fact, escape from a Chinese lab in Wuhan,” Special Report anchor Bret Baier reported. “The study claims the researchers who led the controversial gain of function research which increases infectiousness of a virus were the first to become sick,” he added.
Taking over for Baier, correspondent Mike Emanuel revealed that “A new report on the online platform Substack says scientists at the lab in Wuhan were the first COVID-19 patients in the fall of 2019 while conducting controversial gain of function research.”
To make the record crystal clear about who was right and wrong, Emanuel featured two soundbites of then-White House chief medical adviser Tony Fauci denying that there was ever a lab leak:
ANTHONY FAUCI (APRIL 17, 2020): Totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.
FAUCI (JULY 22, 2022): We have an open mind but it looks very, very much like this was a natural occurrence.
Ending his report, Emanuel noted that “the nonpartisan government accountability office is out with a new report late today which found that U.S. Taxpayer dollars flow to Chinese entities including the Wuhan lab ahead of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
“The money came from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for International Development,” Emanuel added.
This bias by omission from the three networks was made possible by Prudential on ABC, Aleve on CBS, and Salonpas on NBC. Their information is linked.
To read the transcript click “expand:”
FNC’s Special Report
6/14/2023
6:02:51 p.m. EasternBRET BAIER: Tonight we have a compelling new report on the origins of COVID. It details strong new evidence suggesting the virus did, in fact, escape from a Chinese lab in Wuhan. The study claims the researchers who led the controversial gain of function research which increases infectiousness of a virus were the first to become sick. The information is renewing criticism over previous assertions that the virus occurred naturally in China. Chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel joins us now to break it all down. Good evening, Mike.
MIKE EMANUEL: Bret, good evening to you. This is not an official release from the Biden administration. It's what U.S. Officials have leaked to journalists digging into the origin of the global pandemic.
MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER (PRESIDENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS): Not only did we confirm that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, we also were able to name the first three people sickened by the virus.
EMANUEL: A new report on the online platform Substack says scientists at the lab in Wuhan were the first COVID-19 patients in the fall of 2019 while conducting controversial gain of function research. The story names the scientists as Ben Hu, Yu Ping, and Yan Zhu. Jamie Metzl a former World Health Organization advisor called the revelation explosive in an interview with Fox’s Laura Ingraham to air this evening.
JAMIE METZL: And it looks more and more like there was an accident, followed by a criminal cover-up.
EMANUEL: FBI director Christopher Wray told Bret Baier the bureau's theory about COVID's origin back on February 28.
CHRISTOPHER WRAY: The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.
EMANUEL: Yet, the White House chief medical adviser during the pandemic has offered other explanations.
ANTHONY FAUCI (APRIL 17, 2020): Totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.
FAUCI (JULY 22, 2022): We have an open mind but it looks very, very much like this was a natural occurrence.
EMANUEL: Dr. Robert Redfield was CDC director during the pandemic.
ROBERT REDFIELD: I'm very disappointed in how he’s responded to this. Largely, I think it's grounded in his advocacy for gain of function research.
EMANUEL: Kansas Senator Roger Marshall says these latest revelations make China and Fauci look bad.
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): We now can show everybody that what Dr. Fauci was telling us, what China was telling us, what the World Health Organization was telling us was a big lie. And they knew it was a lie all along.
EMANUEL: The nonpartisan government accountability office is out with a new report late today which found that U.S. Taxpayer dollars flow to Chinese entities including the Wuhan lab ahead of the COVID-19 outbreak. The money came from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Bret?
