Chairman of the House panel probing Covid's origins says lawmakers haven't 'seen all that we want to see' but they're following 'the breadcrumbs'

• The US Energy Department reportedly said with low confidence a lab leak likely caused COVID-19.
• Other agencies have suggested alternative theories caused the virus, including animal transmission.
• The chair of a House panel investigating Covid's origins said they have more questions than answers.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, chairman of the House's Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said the panel has seen quite a bit of information on the origins of COVID-19 but not "all that we want to see."

"Some of it is very classified that I have seen, and so we have to continue driving forward and getting questions answered, because the more we find, the more questions that we may have," Wenstrup said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

—Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 5, 2023

He added that there are a variety of opinions among the intelligence agencies investigating the origin of the virus.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Energy Department concluded a lab leak was the most likely source of COVID-19, but reached that conclusion with a low level of confidence.

FBI Director Christopher Wray also said he believes the virus most likely originated in a lab, a theory that was initially dismissed as the cause of the pandemic early on.

The National Intelligence Council and four other agencies have concluded with low confidence that the novel coronavirus came from natural transmission from an infected animal, and the CIA and another agency are undecided between natural transmission and a lab leak.

Wrenstrup said it's "important to find the origins of Covid" but the committee is still unclear on the cause, since different agencies have their own theories.

"What we are trying to do is to follow the breadcrumbs, if you will," Wrenstrup said."Look at the forensics of what took place."

Since it emerged three years ago, COVID-19 has infected more than 758 million people worldwide and killed at least 6.8 million, according to the World Health Organization's tracker.