BREAKING: Trump Administration has known through *unclassified* State Dept. sources since JAN 2018 that China's biotech labs may have created COVID-19 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/

In other words, the Trump Admin has known - without even touching the intelligence community's classified sources and methods - about risk of major pandemic from Chinese labs.

The State Dept. was using its resources to communicate our concern to China - and report back to the President.

China tried to cover its tracks about this, but the tracks are, well, archived. #OPSECFail

Diplomats warned that China could have been working on a de facto bioweapon of mass destruction - with insufficient safety and security.

America's Foreign Service () was on the frontlines warning about a national security threat and trying to mitigate it through diplomacy first.

State Dept. reported that what potentially became COVID-19 may have come from the same source as what created the deadly SARS outbreak: bats.

Given the affinity for angiotensin converting enzyme-2, like COVID-19, the State cables argue that keeping track of these coronaviruses would indeed be critical for security.

There's a fine line between defensive research and creating a bioweapon.

It wasn't clear on which side of the line the Wuhan laboratory was on with this coronavirus research.

The Chinese government is *very* reticent to answer questions about how COVID-19 came about - including basic questions.

(Note: the actual CCP took the time to accuse the U.S. DOD of cooking up COVID-19...a *very* bad look, diplomatically.)

Not shockingly, Trump did nothing to help or investigate the Wuhan situation further. But now it's looking back at warnings from *more than two years ago.*

The most likely scenario for COVID-19's pandemic involves China's mismanaged bioresearch labs.

The story about the seafood market? It apparently didn't even *sell* the bats that would have transmitted COVID-19.

Perhaps most tellingly, Beijing is freaking out and actively trying to keep SCIENTISTS TRYING TO SAVE LIVES from getting a hold of critical information about the origins of COVID-19.

Bottom line: if our State Dept. had the story in unclassified form as far back as JANUARY 2018 then Trump has had access the entire time - certainly since late 2019.

And did nothing. </>

(And kudos to @JoshRogin for such solid, timely #GoodJournalism)