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Comment by Raul Ruiz

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U.S. representative from California and physician
The origins of the COVID-19 pandemic remain uncertain. [...] It could have been a lab leak and it could have been an animal transmission.
AI Verified (Jun 3, 2024)
Source:
Raul Ruiz, minority views in "A Hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci," House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing, June 3, 2024.
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Policy proposals and claims
COVID-19 originated from a lab-related incident rather than natural zoonotic spillover
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Statement relation comments

AI Verified The quote is directly about the statement’s core question—lab leak versus animal transmission—and, in context, Ruiz says the origins remain uncertain and either explanation is possible, so the author’s stance is determinably abstention/uncertainty rather than a side on the merits. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg55830/html/CHRG-118hhrg55830.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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AI Verified He explicitly says the origins "remain uncertain" and that it "could have been a lab leak" or "could have been an animal transmission," so he is not endorsing lab origin over zoonotic spillover. In context, Ruiz also calls for a "serious, balanced look" at whether it emerged "from a lab or from nature." ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg55830/html/CHRG-118hhrg55830.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago

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Quote authenticity comments

AI Verified The quote is authentic. The fetchable GovInfo HTML transcript for the House hearing dated June 3, 2024 contains Ruiz’s closing statement: “The origins of the COVID-19 pandemic remain uncertain” followed, after one omitted sentence, by “It could have been a lab leak and it could have been an animal transmission.” The transcript explicitly identifies the speaker as “Dr. Ruiz,” so the attribution to Raul Ruiz and the date are correct, and the source URL does contain the text. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg55830/html/CHRG-118hhrg55830.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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