ST. LOUIS — Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, were pointing at a Chinese lab as the possible origin of the virus.
"We have people looking at it very, very strongly," Trump said in April 2020.
It was a theory largely dismissed at the time by leading experts.
"Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that it evolved in nature and then jumped species," Dr. Anthony Fauci, M.D., the country's leading infectious disease expert, told National Geographic in May 2020.
When the virus exploded in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, early speculation on the source centered on an animal market.
But no definitive evidence has ever been found.
This week, President Joe Biden ordered U.S. intelligence officials to "redouble" their efforts and report back to him in 90 days.
Biden said the intelligence community has "coalesced around two likely scenarios" for the origin of COVID.
First, that the virus did come from human contact with an infected animal. Second, that it resulted from a laboratory accident.
"That's big news," Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told 5 On Your Side.
"We've been told for a long time that, oh, my gosh, no, no, no, there's no way there's any connection to a lab. And now you've got the president saying maybe there was," Hawley said.
During a slow moment in the Senate on Wednesday night, Hawley and fellow Republican Mike Braun of Indiana passed a bill by unanimous consent that, if it becomes law, would require the Biden administration to declassify all intelligence about any possible link between COVID-19 and a Chinese lab.
"Let the American people see. Let the American people decide ... share the facts," said Hawley. "Our intelligence agencies have spent over a year trying to gather the facts, which is really important, about the origins of this virus. And those facts should be shared with the American people."
Thursday Biden was asked if he would pledge to release the report he's asked for in 90 days and he said "yes" unless there's something he's "unaware of."
Experts say there is an important distinction to make about scientists' growing concern COVID leaked from a lab. They say if there was a leak, there is no evidence it was intentional.
5 On Your Side also asked Hawley if he wanted the same transparency around the events of Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol as he is calling for with intelligence concerning COVID. That conversation can be found below.