“

I always supported looking at this possibility. But it was also my position from the outset that until we had actually vetted AVC’s [ Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance’s ] particular scientific allegations of WIV origin with real scientists, we shouldn't voice them in public, do demarches, or find China in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention over SARS-CoV-2. It was irresponsible of AVC to try to run with this before ascertaining whether its scientific claims could survive scrutiny, that's why I insisted upon vetting.